The student section was full. The band was blaring in the bleachers. Cheerleaders were waving their pom-poms with smiles on their faces. Everything you would expect from your usual Friday night lights.

Only this game was different from anything seen before at EHS. And it was Tuesday, not Friday. 

The first-ever EHS girls flag football team made its long-awaited debut Tuesday night against Mascoutah High School with a 40-0 win that came with no surprises from anyone who witnessed their energy on the field.

“I feel like [the players] are just really excited to finally be here. I can see it in the way they are playing,” junior Jaysa Altenbaumer said from the front of the student section. “Watching them play is easily just as exciting as watching regular football.”

And exciting it was, with a lead that just kept getting bigger as the players racked up the points.

Junior Sophie Shapiro started off the game strong by bringing the team to a 22-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, scoring two of the three touchdowns in the first 12 minutes. 

“You just have to be ready for anything,” Shapiro said when asked about what was going through her head while on the field. “Once you get that ball, just keep running. Run as fast as you can.”

Not only was the energy on the field electric, but the turnout for the team’s debut was a success. Even the players were shocked at the number of fans in the student section.

“I was nervous because I’ve never played in front of a student section that large in any other sport,” said Shapiro, who also plays basketball and holds three records in EHS girls track and field. “I was really surprised at how many people I saw out there.”

Shapiro said that the hardest part of her season so far has been learning all the rules of a sport that is completely new to her.

Assistant coach Jaime Gaal, on the other hand, said that she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the girls on the team were able to pick up on the new sport.

“We’re used to having a lot of people who haven’t played football before, because it just isn’t something that girls usually grow up with,” Gall said. “They have caught on very quickly, and they played great tonight. We really have some amazing athletes.”

Junior Victoria White agrees that the team played extremely well for their first game.

“We played together as a unit, didn’t let mistakes get to our heads, and we adjusted when needed,” White said. “It was honestly fantastic.”

Both White and other players said that they were surprised at the margin by which the team won.

“I knew we would win, but I didn’t know that it would be a 40-point blowout,” White said.

Shapiro said that she was shocked at the amount of touchdowns the team, and herself, scored.

“We’ve always played that well during practice,” Shapiro said. “But to pull that off in a game, with the added pressure of the audience and the other team, was incredible.”