Squalicum girls clinched the Northwest Conference’s inaugural flag football league championship with a home win over Ferndale, and Bellingham placed second after beating Sehome on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
“It was so much fun,” Squalicum coach Reed Richardson said. “I have been coaching football for 27 years and this is one of the most fun seasons I ever had. I look back at January 6th, to our first practice, and said to ‘Get on the goal line,’ and nobody knew what that was. The improvement we saw was amazing.”
After defeating Ferndale 28-6 at Squalicum High School, the Storm won the first-ever league title with a 5-0-1 record. Squalicum senior Jazmin Bersola caught two touchdowns, while Archer Burns and Gwen Foy caught one each. Ferndale’s Audrey Kallin also scored a touchdown.
Gallery: Squalicum girls clinch flag football title
“I enjoyed playing football this season,” Bersola said. “For so long we have been watching the boys do their stuff, and there were so many girls that wanted to do this but couldn’t. It doesn’t even feel real.”
Bellingham placed second with a 4-1-1 record while Sehome and Ferndale tied with 1-5 records.
“I believe this first season was extraordinary for every team as we learned a lot and have come a long way from week one,” Bellingham coach Logan Altizer said. “It was nice getting to play against everyone twice as we all learned and adapted and were able to see each other grow.”
In the final game of the season, the seniors were honored pregame in front of a few hundred people supporting the teams.
“It surpassed all expectations,” Squalicum senior Emily Horst said. “It was so fun being with this group of girls and the love for this team was like any other team I have ever played with.”
Since Squalicum led the conference throughout the season, the Storm represented Whatcom County at the third-ever regional tournament. The top two teams at the tournament competed for a state title.
“I expected it to be tough because I watched some of these teams,” Richardson said. “We were a bit wide-eyed but our girls battled. It is a testament to the character of our team. We were outgunned and outcoached but we battled.”
The Storm faced Woodinville, who had already played more than 30 games in their program history, and lost 29-0. Afterward, Squalicum faced defending state champion Skyline and lost 23-7. Although the Storm struggled at the regional level, they were able to earn respect from their peers.
“One of the coolest moments is that I teach a ‘history through sports’ class and Emily is in there with a bunch of the football players,” Richardson said. “In the Ferndale game, she got a pick-six and I showed her the video. All the guys swarmed around and you see them going crazy. As a football coach, I was almost in tears because I saw the genuine respect between the football players.”
Although the first season has ended in Whatcom County, the future is bright across the county and state. Girls flag football becoming a state-sanctioned sport is one of 16 proposed amendments for the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association in April.
Before the voting takes place, the four coaches in the Northwest Conference will meet and discuss how to propel the sport into its second season and hopefully draw new players and teams. Some of the topics will include longer games, wider fields, more coaches and hopefully junior varsity squads in the future.
“It makes me so excited for the future of this sport and the opportunity these girls in Washington can get,” Horst said.
This story was updated at 8:35 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 to add a quote from Bellingham coach Logan Altizer and more context of postseason discussions.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
