In the summer of 2023, the Oak Park High School girls flag football team was born; with their 11-5 win streak, the tightly-knit varsity team blazed the trail for the future of flag football at OPHS.

Two years later, current senior Sailor Platt, Riley Scupine and Arika Innis reflect on their final season, which culminated on Oct. 14 after a loss against Moorpark. 

“The Moorpark game was definitely our hardest game,” Scupine said. “Not because their team was the best, but because it was our last game. If we won, we could have gone to the playoffs.”

While the girls experienced highs and lows throughout the season, their wins brought them hope and encouragement.

“Our biggest accomplishment was beating Newbury Park,” Platt said. “We were down by a lot at halftime, and then we came back in the last quarter.”

According to the team members, the Newbury Park game was a thrilling way to start the season and brought out the girls’ determination.

“We won in the last couple of seconds of the game, and it was a really crazy, hype game,” Innis said. “Everybody was so excited, and it set the tone for the entire season.”From August to October, the flag football team improved drastically due to new coaching and smoother communication.

“We learned how to talk with each other when we felt like something wasn’t working, instead of worrying about hurting others’ feelings,” Innis said. “We learned to communicate in a respectful way, which had a big impact on our success as a team.”

The flag football team ended the 2025 season with a 5-8-1 win streak. While returning members are excited to come back on the field next year, the seniors are sharing their nostalgia about their last year playing on the team.

“It’s such a great group of people, and they’re all really nice and funny,” Innis said. “It makes playing on the team so much better, and I wouldn’t choose to play with any other group of girls.”