Ever since the Central Coast Section sanctioned play for girls flag football beginning in the fall 2024 season, Los Gatos High School has established itself as one of the top-tier programs.
In the recently completed regular-season, the Wildcats finished 20-5, including a perfect 10-0 to win the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League championship and earn the No. 3 seed in the Open Division playoffs.
On Monday, they edged No. 6 seed Carlmont High 13-12, propelling them to a semifinal showdown with No. 2 seed Sacred Heart Prep on Wednesday. The Gators defeated Los Gatos 26-7 in a non-league matchup in the first month of the season.
“I’d love to win (against Carlmont) and if the opportunity came up to have a rematch with Sacred Heart Prep, that would be really cool, too,” Wildcats coach Jaye Reinman said three days before the Carlmont game. “I don’t care who we play. I hope there’s three doors (opponents) to walk through and I want my girls to walk through all of them, God willing.”
No matter how this season ends, the future remains bright. Out of the 22 players on the roster, just two are seniors. Furthermore, Los Gatos has a pipeline of incoming talent en route to campus.
“That’s the beauty of my squad,” Reinman said. “We’re very young and a really good team. So, being able to think to myself that next year’s starting offense and defense is basically the team that will be there for the next two to three years is great. In addition, I hear the new incoming class has some athletes who will be playing flag football next year.”
Los Gatos dominated the majority of its games, with Reinman liberally utilizing his second- and third-string players by the start of the fourth quarter. However, the Wildcats also showed they could perform in the clutch, winning two razor-thin close games with league rival Milpitas.
“Everytime we play them, I joke with their coach, ‘Can we have a game and not have it come down to the final whistle,’” Reinman said. “Three of the four games we’ve played with them since last year were ping pong matches and absolute thrillers.”
Sophomore quarterback Helena Younan has thrown 57 touchdown passes, with 42 of those going to the dynamic trio of Sophie Riese, Taylor Payne and Reilly Cronin. In one sense, Reinman has given the keys to the offense to Younan, who continues to make all of the plays.
“Helena is a really smart player,” Reinman said. “I’ve been giving Helena the autonomy to basically run the offense, even though I have an offensive coordinator. She’s comfortable when she’s able to direct, and she’s able to understand what the offensive needs are and what her personal needs are. Once those two connect, we’re good.”
Riese is a dynamic playmaker who is averaging 64 yards receiving per game. Just as important, she is one of the stronger personalities on the team.
“Sophie is really opinionated sometimes, but she’s also really smart,” Reinman said. “She might come with a suggestion during a game and I’m like, ‘OK, there could be something to that. Let’s do that.’ We’re a family-based team and a tight-knit offense. They understand football and when you know your players get it, it’s really refreshing because now you’re really scheming the ins and outs of football.”
Five of the seven starters on offense play both ways, including Kendall Feichtmeir (receiver/cornerback), Paige Purcell (halfback/linebacker), Cate Zeman (receiver/linebacker), Riese (receiver/free safety), and Payne (receiver/strong safety). Feichtmeir and Purcell lead the team with four “tackles” per game, while freshman Callie Nelson has a team-best 19 sacks. The trio of Payne, Riese and Purcell have combined for 37 interceptions.
Flag football is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S., with girls driving the surge in participation. According to the International Federation of American Football, 2.4 million kids aged 16 and under are playing organized flag football nationwide, while millions more play globally.
The rise in participation is one of the key reasons why flag football will make its debut as an Olympic Sport in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“Girls flag football has grown exponentially,” Reinman said. “It’s out of this world. A bunch of colleges are offering scholarships now, and you’re seeing the game played at the junior college level as well. I knew the game was going to take off when I started doing this in middle school. Obviously, I don’t think anyone could’ve expected the way it took off, but I’ve boarded the flag football train and will keep riding it.”
Out of the Wildcats’ five losses, only two came from teams within the CCS: Menlo School and Sacred Heart Prep, the top two seeds in the playoffs. However, Reinman said the implementation of the new rule changes and the seeming inconsistency of the interpretation of what was being called a penalty, had an impact on the team’s progression early in the season.
“The girls have made a really nice adjustment from the beginning of the season,” Reinman said. “We had to change our whole game plan and the girls really adapted to that. You watch the girls now and it’s clear they are even in a better place now than before. They’re ready to adapt and adjust on a dime.”
Reinman loves the fact the team is winning but even more important that they do it with integrity. Yes, character still matters.
“They are really kind, nice girls,” he said. “I was joking one time and said to them, ‘You’re going to have to start getting more feisty.’ One of them was like, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’ To see that reaction was really cool. They were upset because some of the girls on the other team were calling them bad names, and other ones referencing weight. But our girls are not going to react to that.
“They’re always going to be kind and respectful. I always tell them no matter who we’re playing, you’re not going to play down to their level, you’re not going to get into bickering matches. The culture we have here is built on respect, teamwork and good camaraderie. I love where we’re at and love where we’re going.”
