Girl power on the gridiron: Sacramento-area high schooler makes impact on football field
CITRUS HEIGHTS — Mesa Verde High School's football team has an unlikely player on the field, an athlete who's showing the world what it means "to play like a girl."
If you've seen the team in action, you may have noticed a ponytail hanging out of one of the helmets.
"Man, she's strong. She be hitting everybody," said Luis Cerrato, a Mesa Verde junior and outside linebacker. "She's hit some of the big guys and even knocked us on our butts."
He's talking about No. 44, senior varsity football player Alyssa Lauriano.
"I play linebacker, running back and tight end," Lauriano said.
That's right. This soft-spoken student transforms when she hits the turf.
"She's kind of a girly girl and that's the funny thing about it," said Leonard Casillas, Mesa Verde's varsity head coach. "She does look like that part but when it comes to playing, she's not. She's grinding, she's working hard, she's physical."
"I'm just kinda shy and football is my place to be," Lauriano said.
Lauriano played at San Juan High School for two years before transferring to Mesa Verde.
Last month, she played against her former team in the Citrus Bowl and scored two touchdowns. She tied the state record as the second female to do so in a single varsity game.
"They don't take it lightly on her and she takes it," Casillas said.
As for naysayers, sure, there are some, but Lauriano keeps her head down and puts in the work.
"She just goes out there and does her thing," Cerrato said.
It's the road less traveled, but Lauriano is carving her path with grit and determination.
"You might worry about a young lady playing but she's just like one of the other boys out here," said Casillas. She's just as tough and mentally tough."
The Mesa Verde football team has been practicing on the baseball field. The school hasn't had its own football stadium since being built in the 1970s.
On October 13, they're unveiling their brand new stadium and playing in it for the first time for their homecoming game against Rio Linda.
