Phoebe M.

Westridge’s flag football team gathered before the game commenced.

“We don’t hope we win—we will win.” Head Coach Daniel Calmeyer corrected Clara T. ’27 as she tied her cleats and voiced the team’s hope to win against Windward School.

On Tuesday, October 21, Westridge’s flag football team played Windward School in the first round of CIFs, also marking the last home game of the season. To advance to CIFs, teams play regular-season games in their local league, and then, the top teams from the league participate in four CIF games at various high schools. To make it to the championship game, the team must win all four CIF games. The atmosphere of the game was electric: a combination of the pressure of high stakes and the excitement surrounding the journey ahead. 

Decorated with inflatable palm trees and colorful leis, a school spirit day accompanied the “beach” themed game, and students were encouraged to dress up in support of their peers. After the game, Tiger-themed prizes were awarded to the students with the best spirit.

Director of Upper School Dr. Melanie Arias handed out green-and-white Westridge pom poms, and a horn blared—marking the start of the game. “One, two, three, tigers!” the team chanted, throwing their fists in the air. 

The atmosphere was positive during the first CIF game, a goal the team had been working towards all season, according to Abby W. ’27, one of the team captains. 

Most Westridge sports are divided into frosh-soph, junior varsity, and varsity teams to ensure that players of varying skill levels can compete fairly. But with too few players for a junior varsity or frosh-soph team, flag football has only one team: varsity. Other schools that they compete against often have both a junior varsity and varsity team. Abby explained that this doesn’t set Westridge back. “What makes us such a great team is that we all believe that everybody can play every position,” she said.

With four minutes left of the first quarter, Windward scored the first touchdown. The pressure was on. With 22 seconds remaining in the quarter, Abby passed the ball to Layla R. ’27, who dashed between Windward’s defense before her flag was subsequently pulled. Despite this, the crowd cheered. Westridge was close to making their first touchdown.

After a miscommunication between coaches and players in the second quarter, a Westridge player expressed their frustration to Coach Calmeyer and Coach Marcus Randolph. “You’re telling us contradicting things,” said the player.

Tensions were high, and Windward was in the lead by six points. Westridge needed to get a touchdown in order to take the lead in the second half of the game. “During the first half, we were playing kind of scared because there were so many nerves,” said Abby. Nerves are to be expected—especially since the team has been preparing for this moment, the CIFs, since the season began in August.

However, just seconds into the third quarter, Layla sprinted down the field with the ball. The bleachers roared, and the team, full of smiles, celebrated. Layla scored the first touchdown for Westridge, and the spirit and drive of the Tigers only went up from there.

This momentum carried Westridge to their victory in round one of CIFs, 21-6, against Windward. “We all believe in each other, that we could all go all the way, [which] was part of what makes the team atmosphere so good,” said Abby. 

There is no doubt that Westridge’s flag football team illustrates a group effort; whether it’s the parents who showed up with cookies for the team and handed out tiger headbands throughout the game, or the players who played hard and cheered each other on.

The team does not lack enthusiasm or support either—even under pressure to reach the championship game. When Westridge lost to Vasquez High School in the second round of CIFs, the team remained proud despite the disappointment. “As a team, we played really well together and had a really good season,” Abby said.