Eden Prairie girls flag football wraps up first season as coaches laud growth

Earlier this month, the Eden Prairie girls flag football team finished its inaugural season with a 27-20 first-round playoff loss to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. That loss followed a regular season in which the Eagles went 1-7.

Although the record wasn’t what the team hoped for, there were positive things to take away from the season, according to head coach JD Dixon.

“Looking at our record, it’s very easy to take away disappointment, but as we stated in the huddle, there’s been growth,” Dixon said following the playoff loss. “This is a completely different team from week one.”

A more competitive team

The improvement was evident on the field, where the games were more competitive and the margins closer than earlier in the season. The Eagles lost by five in the regular season’s final week to Bloomington, an eventual state tournament participant. In that game, Eden Prairie held a 19-0 lead at one point. 

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“I’ve never seen us play like this,” Eagles sophomore Cadence Mix said after her team went up by 19.

In the playoff loss on June 1 at Minnetonka High School, Eden Prairie fell just short. The Eagles kept Waterville-Elysian-Morristown off the scoreboard in the second half. Time ran out with the Eagles on the Buccaneers’ two-yard line, driving toward the end zone.

The combination of junior quarterback Jilary Sanchez and sophomore Maleah Holloway accounted for all three touchdown passes against the Buccaneers, while sophomore Cayden Zaccardi-Ware had more than 80 yards from scrimmage and caught an extra point.

Asking for more practice

One reason for the team’s improvement throughout the season was the players’ desire to put in the time to get better. They asked for more practice, and practice isn’t exactly known for being an athlete’s favorite part of playing sports.

“It started week one,” Dixon said of her players asking to practice more often. “These girls, they were really excited when the program came to Eden Prairie. We have not lost any player that started from week one; we actually gained a couple players.”

Past, present, and future

At the end of every gameday, the team sits in a circle while Dixon and Happel talk a little about the games. But the majority of the time is spent on shoutouts, with each player getting a chance to compliment her teammates on things they did well that day.

After the playoff loss, the players praised their teammates’ passing, receiving, defense, flag-pulling, and mental toughness. Natalee Shoemaker, the team’s lone senior, received a small football signed by her coaches and teammates. Shoemaker, whose run was the first play in program history back on April 27, plans to play intramural flag football at UMass-Amherst next season.

Dixon and Joe Perkl, Eden Prairie’s activities director, both expect the turnout for tryouts next spring to be bigger, as the sport grows in popularity. There were 51 teams statewide this year, and Mahtomedi won the state championship on June 9. The goal is for the sport, which was played at the club level this season, to eventually become a varsity sport in Minnesota.

While Dixon and Happel are excited about the future, Happel focused her postseason speech on the past and the present.

“The group that showed up at the dome on March 3 (for the initial clinic) is a completely different team than the one that’s here now,” she said on the field on June 1. “I am proud of each and every one of you.”