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SRHS looks for successful second half of season

Srhs looks for successful second half of season
Scripps Ranch High School sophomore Noa Phillips gracefully extends to battle for a pass against a University City High player during a loss on Sept. 2 in which the team had to play a double header. (photo by Phuong Vu)


SRHS looks for successful second half of season


By Hector Trujillo

With just nine games left in the regular season, the Scripps Ranch High School flag football team strives to finish strong in hopes of making the playoffs for a third year in a row.

Despite being a very young team which is made up of only three seniors in the 23-player roster, the Falcons started off the season by winning two of the first three games with the only loss during that span coming in a 7-6 nail-biter to La Costa Canyon High on Aug. 21.

“The varsity team is comprised of a lot of Marshall (Middle School) girls and the future is bright because of the young talent we have,” said head coach Charlie Tang. “A lot of those girls are used to a winning culture. If we can beat the teams in our league, then we’ll be in a good spot going into playoffs.”

Scripps Ranch High finished in seventh-place last season, which moved the team over to the Eastern League for 2025, as the top six were placed in the Western League. There have also been new rule changes instituted, making the game have a faster pace which includes the rush-line being moved up to a distance of just one yard instead of seven yards.

“This means the defense can really be right on top of you and can blitz from one yard away now,” Tang said. “We are the type of team that wants to play fast with kind of a West Coast style offense. We like to move the ball with no huddle, and we like to be quick on our breaks.”

These rule changes make flag football look more like tackle football as they allow some degree of blocking with teams permitted to line up in any formation without restrictions, along with there no longer being a no-run zone for quarterbacks.

Scripps Ranch High hopes its success will continue to be largely dependent on the performance of its three captains in sophomore Kennedy McCabe, sophomore Malia Kollmeyer and senior Lily Eigen.

“We don’t really throw deep. We’re more of a low-scoring grind it out team focused on ball possession and field position,” Tang said.

Scripps Ranch High plays its next game on Sept. 25 versus Logan Memorial Educational Campus before returning home to face Morse High on Sept. 30, with its rivalry game against Mira Mesa High School coming on Oct. 9.