It has been a year of firsts for most of the San Gabriel Valley seniors who will participate in a Los Angeles Rams-sponsored all-star girls flag football game Saturday afternoon at Simi Valley High School.
This is the first year for the event between the San Gabriel Valley all-stars and the San Fernando/Ventura all-stars, as the sport continues to grow in new ways.
The San Gabriel Valley all-stars and San Fernando Valley/Ventura all-stars will play Saturday at 2 p.m. That game will be followed by an all-star football game at 6 p.m. between those two areas. The two games are for seniors (Class of 2025).
Bonita flag football coach Michael Mann is leading the SGV all-stars. He said the team’s practices this week have been a wonderful experience. He noted that the Rams have provided both teams in the East vs. West matchup with uniforms, customized flags and head gear.
“These girls are studs,” Mann said. “They learn so quickly. I implemented 30 plays in two days and they picked it up in 20 minutes. They’re loving it out here and excited about the game.”
For many of the seniors, this was their only year of flag football. The CIF Southern Section added flag football in 2023 and this season the sport had section playoffs for the first time.
La Serna senior quarterback Sierra Flores is one player who has taken full advantage of it. She’s earned a flag football scholarship to Graceland University in Iowa. She will start for the SGV’s East squad in Saturday’s game.
“She’s so good,” Mann said. “You’re going to see more and more girls earn scholarships and play flag football at the next level. She’s just one of them.”
The game has also brought twins Ashley Sandmark and Breanna Sandmark together on the SGV team. The two have been rivals in high school with Ashley attending San Dimas and Breanna at Bonita.
This week they are teammates.
“That is a cool part of this for both of them,” Mann said. “It was a big deal when we played and they had to go at each other. I think they love they get to play with each other this week.”
Mann noted that among the players who have stood out are Paola Casas of Glendora as a linebacker and Whittier Christian’s Grace Galdamez as a wide receiver.
SGV ALL-STAR FOOTBALL TEAM ENJOYING EVENT
Former Bishop Amat football coach Steve Hagerty is leading the San Gabriel Valley all-star team in Saturday night’s game at Simi Valley High.
Hagerty resigned as the Lancers’ coach last month, so this will be his last duty representing the school as a football coach.
For a final event, he loves it.
Hagerty says the teams have received first-class treatment and says the game has the feel of a big-time event. Players have received full uniforms and cleats. They will wear their high school football helmets to represent their school.
“It’s a quality event, run really well by the organizers, give them a lot of credit,” Hagerty said. “We’ve been practicing all week at the University of La Verne and the kids are working hard. It’s a fun group and a pretty wide spread representation of the San Gabriel Valley.”
This year’s game is at Simi Valley High School and the plan is for the game to be played in the San Gabriel Valley next season.
Hagerty noted that the SGV team has a strong defensive front with players like St. Paul defensive lineman Aquarius Moore, Bishop Amat defensive tackle Jayden Murrieta, Diamond Bar linebacker Matthew Galvan and La Habra defensive end Ulavai Fetuli, to name a few of the standouts.
“I like our defensive line and our defense in general. We’ve got a lot of good kids,” Hagerty said. “You don’t have a lot of time to work with them, but you can tell they’re really special players.”
On offense, Bishop Amat’s Frankie Villalbazo and St. Francis’ John Sanders will likely handle most of the quarterback responsibilities, and St. Paul’s Joseph Lafferre and West Covina’s Zander Requena will be two of the featured backs.
“You don’t have a lot of time to digest the plays offensively, and Frankie, being from Amat, understands it more and is kind of coaching others through it, but it’s an all-star game, nothing is going to be perfect,” Hagerty said. “I’m glad there are no kickoffs in the game and hopefully we don’t have to punt too much, but other than that, we’ll be fine.”
Playing the game the Saturday following the state championships was the way to go, Hagerty explained.
“It’s kind of the culmination of the end of the season and they’re still in football (shape),” Hagerty said. “It’s good for the kids. They can play this game and go enjoy their Christmas and the rest of the holidays.”
