Girls flag football league on LI kicks off with fun contest
For openers, the start of girls flag football on Long Island was a rousing success.
Plainview JFK-Old Bethpage hosted the Bellmore-Merrick District in a game that featured excellent flag pulling technique, 71 combined points, long-distance touchdowns and a ton of excitement.
The schools kicked off a pilot program of 17 high school teams — nine in Nassau and eight in Suffolk — that will compete across Long Island this spring.
Sofia LaSpina, the first female to score a touchdown in a boys game in Long Island history last fall for Mepham High School, led the Bellmore-Merrick team from the quarterback position. She threw for three touchdowns and two one-point conversions as Bellmore-Merrick outscored Plainview JFK-Old Bethpage, 47-24. LaSpina also caught a short touchdown pass from Luciana Setteducate.
“Flag football is all about athleticism and execution of plays,” Bellmore-Merrick coach Anthony Cracco said. “We had a nice balanced offense and LaSpina did a great job at quarterback. She was like a point guard directing the offense and getting the ball to our playmakers. It was a blast getting them ready for the season. I loved watching them play and they were having so much fun.”
Sportsmanship took center stage throughout the game. Players from both teams showed respect for the rules and the officials. The officiating crew took the time to explain some of the rules of contact to meet the safety guidelines of no blocking. There was one call for illegal flag shielding which nullified a touchdown.
“It was an exciting start to the season and another opportunity for girls to be physically active in a new sport,” said Joe Braico, the director of athletics for the Plainview-JFK Old Bethpage District. “Flag football is a huge sport in our town and we’re expanding with a junior varsity next season. We had a great crowd and I want to add a night game for some Friday Night Lights excitement.”
The first score of the game came on a pick-6. Bellmore’s Adriana Iemma jumped a slant route and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 16:20 left in the 24-minute first half. LaSpina threw a 16-yard strike to Gabrielle Hanellin for a score and a 12-0 lead with 8:32 left.
“I’m proud of our team,” LaSpina said. “We learned the plays pretty quickly. And we played well as a team.”
Setteducate, who had two touchdown runs (one for 55 yards), also added an extra-point conversion run and an 80-yard INT return on a conversion attempt that resulted in two points for Bellmore.
“She’s an outstanding athlete,” Cracco said. “I want her to play for the boys team. She spun away from multiple defenders on those big runs.”
Plainview quarterback Emma Kimmel, who played shooting guard for the girls basketball team, had two TD passes and a scoring run.
“We’ll continue to get better and I’m looking forward to seeing what we look like at the end of the season,” Plainview coach Alex O’Bramowitz said. “Emma made some nice throws and Lara [Glasser] used her speed for some long touchdowns [60-yard catch, 54-yard run]."
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
