For the first time in Don Lugo’s history, there is a Girl’s Flag Football team! The team officially kicked off in early April with their scrimmage against Chino High School.
Last year, there was a unanimous vote by California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to make flag football an official sport for girls. Once Girls Flag Football was approved to be a part of CIF’s Southern Section, there was an increased interest among many Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior girls, so Coach Donoho decided to create a team for Don Lugo.
The team is coached by Coach Drew Knight and Coach E. Don Lugo’s Girls Flag Football has a Varsity and a Junior Varsity team. Some of the team captains are Junior Gabriella Segoviano, Junior Maya Hodges, Junior Aliyah Gonzalez, Junior Camryn Kiss, and Junior Giselle Castaneda.
Since this is the first year of Girls Flag Football, the district teams have only played scrimmages. The Don Lugo team has had several scrimmages against other schools in the CVUSD district. There is no doubt that rivalries are already being created! They played a home game against Chino High School on April 3rd, an away game against Chino High School on April 8, and an away game against Ayala High School on April 10. Both Varsity and Junior Varsity participated in these games. Since the games were scrimmages, scores did not affect any league standings.
Even though this year did not have any official games, the 2024-2025 season already has several games lined up throughout late September and October. Some of the teams the Girls Flag Football team are playing against are Montclair High School, Chaffey High School, and Ontario High School. Those are sure to be an exciting and challenging games to look forward to.
The team is working hard to prepare for the upcoming seasons at their after school practices. Throughout their practices, the Girls Flag Football team works on several things. This may include going over plays, learning new passes, or exercising what they already know.
Varsity Captain Gabriella Segoviano commented, “My favorite part about playing in these games is just having fun. I think it is a really new sport, so it is also a new environment for all of us. There is definitely a lot to learn but it’s really fun being able to play in the games.”
Senior Isabelle Munoz commented, “I think that it is really cool having a new sports team, especially one for girls. Football in itself is a really male-dominated sport so having something like that for the girls is really almost empowering.” Munoz also continued, “Even nowadays, a lot of girls’ sports get overlooked, or some believe they aren’t as important as the boys sports. But with this new team, these girls are taking back the spotlight.”
Though this was a short beginning season, there is definitely more to come for the Girls Flag Football team. We should expect many achievements, touchdowns, and wins from our Don Lugo Flag Football players!
