Highlanders hit by multiple injuries
Girls Flag Football suffered a challenging loss to Castro Valley 39-0 on October 2 at Witter Field.
Both starting quarterback Edie Elmquist and backup Agatha Filha Gama were out due to injuries. So were wide receiver, cornerback and punter Kate Tong and wide receiver Malia Williams.
“The big thing is that our quarterback and backup quarterback are both injured,” receiver and running back Kalyani Spieckerman said. “(Elmquist) has a shoulder injury, so she was taking today to give it some rest. (Filha Gama), our backup quarterback, she has a concussion, so we had to put in our third and fourth lines of quarterbacks to play.”
Tong went in for one punt. “(Williams) has our most yards, so her being injured is a considerable toll on our team,” Tong said.
Spieckerman said that even though the girls lost, it was still a high-effort performance. “Even though we were very not doing well by the scoreboard, in terms of our effort and energy it was up the whole time,” she said.
The Highlanders have an overall record of 4-8 and are second in West Alameda County Conference Shoreline League play. Castro Valley is 12-6.
While the scores may not reflect so, Elmquist said that the girls are making progress. “We are making those adjustments on the field, and the scores are not reflecting that. But as a team, we are growing,” Elmquist said.
Rusher and linebacker Elspeth Grippando said that if the Highlanders want to improve, the defense needs to be more aggressive.
“Really just shutting down the passes, and blocking them with our hands is something we need to do,” Grippando said. “Being more aggressive and covering our zones.”
The Highlanders beat Tennyson 14-0 on September. 9. “(Corner Cea’naiya Alexander) got a pick six, and I got a touchdown,” Tong said.
Next came a 6-0 win over Mt. Eden on September. 11. “Our defense was really what kept us in that game,” Tong said. “I got a running touchdown.”
The Highlanders then suffered a rough loss against San Leandro on September 16, losing 13-0. “(San Leandro’s) a tough game for us always, because last year we had some close games with them, so it was a tough loss but a good game. We played well,” Elmquist said.
Then came a 19-0 loss to Arroyo on September 18. “That was a tough game. It was our first away game, which is new for us,” Elmquist said. “I don’t think our offense or our defense played up to par. We weren’t mentally there.”
The Highlanders struggled to regain their momentum, getting beat by Hayward High School 26-28 on September 23. Williams was a prolific touchdown scorer and had a majority of the rushing yards against Hayward, starting Piedmont’s offensive possession with a 40 yard punt return. However, she said there were things she needs to improve on.
“I need to do better on catching my balls and finishing my routes fully,” Williams said.
After a Hayward player was injured in the second quarter, Piedmont’s team chemistry was off. “(In the first quarter, our defense was) locked in. Hayward could not move on them,” Piedmont coach Beth Black said. “The immediate shift that we saw was the non-penalty, but injury on the field when Hayward was rushing, and their rusher and (Elmquist) got tangled up. After that moment, it was the very next drive that the defense could not recover. I don’t know if Hayward had more to play for, or if (our) defense was just feeling off, but that was the turning point.”
Piedmont began to gain traction again after beating Tennyson again on September 25, beating them 19-12. “I played pretty well,” Spieckerman said. “I got this one really good reception where I caught it and probably ran down the sideline for like 25 yards. We put in as much effort as we could. We had good team chemistry that day.”
Before Piedmont played Castro Valley, they lost to Encinal on September 30, 31-0. “(Elmquist) was injured, her shoulder was not great. We had a lot of people just not feeling good, with some injuries, and like four people that were sick. It was not ideal by any means,” Spieckerman said.
On October 6, the Highlanders lost at Berkeley, 13-0.