Girls flag football is entering its third season in the San Diego Section and continues to gain momentum, including in East County.
Grossmont Conference schools fielding teams this season include Steele Canyon, Granite Hills, Grossmont, Santana, Monte Vista, West Hills, El Capitan, El Cajon Valley, Valhalla and Helix Charter.
That’s 10 teams total.
The lineup has grown from just one team during the inaugural 2023 season when Grossmont competed as a member of the Metro Conference. The 2024 lineup featured four teams: Grossmont, Granite Hills, Steele Canyon and Santana.
Granite Hills, Grossmont, Helix, Santana and Steele Canyon are grouped together in the Grossmont Hills League this season while Monte Vista, West Hills, El Capitan, El Cajon Valley and Valhalla comprise the Grossmont Valley League lineup.
Playoff qualifiers last season included Grossmont (No. 7 seed in Division I), Steele Canyon (No. 6 seed in Division III), Santana (No. 9 seed in Division III) and Granite Hills (No. 12 seed in Division III).
Grossmont and Granite Hills each won one playoff game while Steele Canyon advanced to the Division III semifinals.
However, a few tweaks are coming this season that have the potential to change the way the sport is currently played.
“First, the game is completely changing with the new rules,” San Ysidro High School head coach Giantoni Canale said. “The biggest rule change this year is moving the defensive rusher from seven yards to one yard from the line of scrimmage. To counter that, the offense is allowed to have some blockers to slow down the rush. The blocking has to be screen blocking where the players move side to side but they or the defensive players cannot initiate contact.
“Many, if not all the coaches are concerned about these new rules because it may lead to a more physical play with the blocking, but we are adjusting to the new rules.”
A kicking game has also been added and teams will now punt the football on fourth down.
“Teams will now have special teams to work on as well,” Canale said.
The section will retain its four-divisional playoff format and may add a fifth division if participation numbers warrant.
The section seeding meeting is set for Oct. 25. Tentative playoff dates are Oct. 28-29 (first round), Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 (quarterfinals), Nov. 4-5 (semifinals) and Nov. 7-8 (championship games).
History lesson
The Grossmont Lady Foothillers were an instant hit with a 12-5 overall record, including 7-3 in league play, against teams from Bonita Vista, Otay Ranch, Olympian and Mater Di Catholic high schools as Guliana Balistreri-Coleman was named the league’s offensive player of the year with 14 receiving touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns.
Grossmont finished as the inaugural Grossmont Hills League champion in 2024 with an 8-1 league record, followed by Granite Hills and Steele Canyon at 4-5 and Santana at 2-7.
Grossmont junior Marissa Farace passed for 51 touchdowns and 3,578 yards. Three receivers each finished with double-digit touchdown catches: junior Gabi Thomas (859 yards, 15 touchdowns), sophomore Saraya Roope (903 yards, 11 touchdowns) and senior Jaelyn Jensen (716 yards, 11 touchdowns).
Farace passed for 2,181 yards and 33 touchdowns as a sophomore.
The 2025 edition might be the best yet after Grossmont out-scored Vincent Memorial, 38-0, as part of Saturday’s Desert vs. Diego showcase at San Ysidro High School.
“We have a veteran squad that has been deep into the CIF playoffs the last two years,” GHS head coach Tony Lawrence said. “We lost some quality players to graduation but return a strong core. Our expectations are to compete for a CIF title. I told the girls if they win the championship — I will get a small tattoo on the back of my shoulder to commemorate it.”
Key returners include senior slot receiver/safety Thomas, senior quarterback Farace, junior slot receiver-linebacker Roope and junior cornerback/receiver Ari Simpson.
Farace, Roope and Simpson all earned first-team all-league honors last season while Thomas was named the league MVP.
Impact newcomers include sophomore running back-rusher Mariyah Gibbs and senior receiver-safety Skyler Glover.
“One of our sayings is ‘Everything Matters’ and that has double meaning,” the Grossmont coach said. “Everything on the field — spacing timing, details, assignments, attitude, body language … and sportsmanship, citizenship, grades.
“Our motto — write your story, starting now.”
Stat attack
Freshman Sophia Jackel led Steele Canyon last year with 2,187 passing yards and 29 touchdowns while sophomore Kallan Shaw passed for 1,104 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Junior Ily Barclay gathered in 39 catches for 852 yards and 12 touchdowns. Junior Kaliani Ewing caught 49 passes for 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns. Junior Laveen Hussein had 64 catches for 462 yards and six TDs.
Sophomore Elisha Lewis had eight picks on defense.
Granite Hills frosh Taylor Nash passed for 946 yards and 11 scores last year.
Bonita Vista (Division I) and Classical Academy (Division II) were the section’s inaugural division champions in 2023. Major expansion in participation netted four division champions last year: Classical (Division I), Westview (Division II), Mater Dei Catholic (Division III) and Olympian (Division IV).
New horizons
West Hills kicks off its first season Aug. 21 with a home game against Logan Memorial Education Campus at 7:15 p.m.
Lady Wolf Pack coach Shane Anderson is as excited as his players about the inaugural season.
“This will be West Hills’ first season as a team, but the turnout so far has been fantastic with over 60 girls wanting to be part of the team,” Anderson said.
“The whole team is new with only seven seniors on the team, so over the next few seasons this can become a very established team. This is a very underclassman-heavy team which is great for the future of the program. We have two impactful quarterbacks at the 10th and ninth-grade levels so far who can take this team far within a few years.”
Anderson said speed on defense “seems to be a really good thing right now.”
“The girls are so excited to hit the field and they feel that they will be overlooked this season just because it is their first year,” Anderson said.
“The coaches believe that this team has the ability to win their league and make a decent showing in the playoffs if given the chance.
“Team goals are to establish the future of the program, win league and get into the playoffs.”
