When it comes to high school football, we don’t necessarily tie girls into the same category, but when we do they’re typically placed in the kicker’s position. This isn’t the case for wide receiver/ cornerback, freshman Clara Alire and Josie Fullford.

     On the offensive side, Alire and Fullford are held responsible for stopping balls from the opponent. On the flip side, they’re the ankle-breaking wide receiver who aims to create an open path to revive the dynamic duo between the quarterback and herself.

     As a newbie to football, Alire strives to give her full effort to fulfill the need of not letting herself or the guys on the team down.

     “I felt relieved that the coaches put me in for whatever I was willing to try, and the fact that they weren’t afraid to put me in the games made it easier on me physically and emotionally,” she said.

     Alire’s parents are supportive of her decision to play football. She says,”My dad was super excited and supportive from the start, but it took mom a while to get used to the fact that I was playing.”

     Off the field, Alire holds herself accountable to “keep [her] grades up, stay positive, take care of [her] health and to be an overall amazing student.” She is highly influenced by the present coaching staff. ”The coaches are always there for you, to make you better as a player and as an individual in high school,” she said.

     Alongside of Alire stands Josie Fullford. This aggressive cornerback and wide-receiver comes from a rugby background, so to her, ”playing football was just another sport to play.” Fullford played flag football from seventh grade until this year where she picked up contact football.

      ”It is good to know that us girls had an equal opportunity to do anything the guys did,” she said.

      Fullford is currently out on an injury but includes that,”I am in full support of the guys, because I know how much commitment and hard work they put into this sport.”

      As the only girls who went out for the football team this year, Alire and Fullford set the tone for the increasing steam with the participation of girls’ on football teams.

     Freshman football coach Sean Emerson holds high expectations for his squad no matter their gender. ”It’s the same with everyone. It’s not based on gender, it’s based on ability/ talent. If they can run, if they can block, if they can tackle,” he said.

     Coach Emerson’s goals for the Freshman team is to assure that his athletes  “learn to compete with class and character and they develop skills that are going to help them become great Varsity players in the next couple of years.”

     By holding mandatory study halls on Thursday before practice, Coach Emerson along with Social Studies teacher and asst. Wrestling coach Sparky Adair crack down on the athletes to emerge their grades at a higher level. The football coaching staff and community expect the athletes to illustrate class, character and more importantly, everything that falls in the RAPTOR way.

     As the head coach of the Freshman football team Emerson strives to “get the tone set for not only football but just being a high school student and making sure that they’re taking care of business in the classroom and that they’re doing things the right way, and just acting appropriately and having high character all around.”