Four minutes left on the clock. The Blue Devils were trailing behind Hillside 0-6. After forcing a turnover on Hillside’s attempt to run it into the endzone, Westfield had one last possession to tie the game up. Approaching fourth down, junior quarterback Pricilla Dayon held the ball in her hands. Scrambling to get off a pass, Dayon released the ball. On a soaring spiral the ball bobbled back and forth between the Hillside and Westfield players. In a golden opportunity, sophomore Mia Saco caught the ball and rushed into the endzone. The devils had tied the game 6-6.
The game went on to go into one round of overtime. In three downs, Hillside scored a touchdown for six points, finishing it off with a two point conversion to extend their lead to 14-6. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, in their second moment of redemption, they failed to succeed. The game would ultimately end in a 14-6 win for Hillside.
Despite the loss, Westfield matched up with Hillside very closely. Hillside won the 2023 girls flag football state championship in 2023, and is known for being a top team in New Jersey. What once started as a club and has grown to become a competitive program, the Blue Devils, in their first game of the season, almost defeated the best team in the state.
“They were one of the best teams last year,” said head coach Matt Andzel. “We knew this would be pretty difficult to play, but I’m happy.”
Hillside had shown their talent early on in the game scoring a touchdown in the first few minutes to take a 6-0 lead over Westfield. Even with this intimidatingly quick score, Westfield refused to back down. The Blue Devils held Hillside to their six points until the game’s final moments.
Returning senior Ava Berman was essential to the Blue Devils success. Playing both offense and defense in the positions of cornerback and wide receiver, Berman made crucial plays that would halt the Hillside offense and advance the Blue Devils offense.
“We played them last year and came into it blindsided, and they were a really good team. So this time we were practicing new defenses to try to stop them and their run game, which we did, because in the end, they had to pass it the entire time,” said Dayon. “So overall, I thought, great performance.”
Only in its second year, the girls flag football team demonstrated itself to be very competitive. Differing from last year the girls have engaged in a lot more practices and serious training. “We just had practices over and over again, on the basics, like grabbing the flags and stuff,” said Dayon.
The Blue Devils will face rival Scotch Plains away at Scotch Plains on April 18 at 6pm for their first away game of the season. Although the season has just begun, this anticipated matchup will go to show what the devils are truly made of.