Checking in with the girls’ flag football team

Henry Mattesich, Jesus Martinez, and AJ Anderson

September 30, 2025

How the Girls Flag Football Team are feeling about the 2025 season

Ava Ortman ’26 and Ellie Noah ’27 defend against Camarillo. Photo by: Erkki Corpuz

With a new school year, comes a new season of the girls’ flag football team. With every cycle of the school year coming and going, some things change, and some things stay the same. Some players have decided to share their thoughts in the upcoming flag football season.

Riley Hotzler ‘27 said, “I don’t think there will be too many changes this year because we did so good last year, but there will be different people in different spots.” It is apparent that there aren’t many things changing with the new year, and it’s visible that this year won’t be very different from the last other than people changing spots, as well as some coming and going, but we can hope things go well . Hotzler said, “I am excited to play under this coach as he is nice and understanding as well as hard working and constantly wanting us to win and grow as a team.” Based on this the coach seems as if they know what they’re doing and has the capability to coach the athletes well.

Ellie Noah ‘27 said, “This is my first time playing under this coach but I do really enjoy our coaching staff and program.” We can parse that the coach is both good in what they can accomplish for the team and the vibes they give if a new and experienced player are both enthused to be around him. Not only that, but Noah said, “I know there’s a lot of rulebook changes from last year to this year. We can punt this year.” A new rule like that is notable.

It is visible that this season will likely play out a lot like last year. There is some hope for how this new season will go with the players. There is a feeling that this year of flag football will be good, even if some of the players left.

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About the Contributors

Henry Mattesich, Broadcast/Podcast Editor

Henry is a junior at VHS and is in his second year at The Cougar Press. He enjoys rock climbing, US History, Formula 1 and Star Wars. His least favorite president is Andrew Johnson, his favorite Formula 1 team is Mercedes and his favorite Star Wars movie is The Empire Strikes Back (absolutely CLEARS Revenge of the Sith).

Jesus Martinez, Staffer

Jesus Martinez is a sophomore at VHS in his first year in The Cougar Press. He enjoys various activities including running cross-country and track, hiking outdoors, camping, going to the beach, cooking, photography and taking part in volunteer work. His favorite soccer team is Real Madrid and his favorite movie is Despicable Me 2.

AJ Anderson, Staffer

AJ Anderson is a junior at VHS, in their first year at The Cougar Press. They dont have a background in anything directly related to journalism, however before the current year, they have taken a photography class and a video editing class in middle school. AJ’s favorite Touhou character is Aya Shameimaru.