The temperature may have been frigid, the wind a nuisance, but some early-spring weather wasn’t enough to slow down the Eagles last week. Hosting Walter Panas for the season-opener of the 2024 Flag Football season, reigning Section 1 champion Eastchester opened its title defense on a positive note, using a terrific defensive effort to shut out the Panthers and come away with a 6-0 win.
Eastchester’s aggressive defense was led by a stellar outing from senior Kayla Comizio, who recorded two of the Eagles’ four interceptions on the afternoon. Alexa Keller and Addison Santiago also forced takeaways on the day. Eastchester head coach Vito DeBellis praised his team for its poise despite the unit’s relative inexperience.
“We had five girls out there getting their first start on varsity, but they knew exactly what we needed them to do, they’ve been watching film and they competed,” said DeBellis. “It was definitely a trial by fire but they earned it; it was really impressive what they did today.”
The Eagles’ lone score came on a first half throw from quarterback Michelle Tiso to Santiago, but DeBellis said the offense operated as efficiently as can be expected given the playing conditions.
“The wind makes a big difference and it doesn’t matter if you’re going against the wind or with it, it’s going to make it hard to run the offense,” said DeBellis. “Between that and the girls just getting more comfortable with each other, we know we’re going to continue to get better.”
The Eagles will have plenty of time to go over the lessons they learned from the first game of the season, as they will have over a week off before taking the field again on April 4 when they travel to Peekskill.
But with a host of girls that come into the year with some championship experience—and a few new faces eager to carve their own paths out on varsity, DeBellis said the Eagles will be well-equipped to compete again in the growing field of Section 1 teams.
“Kayla never came off the field today, Michelle is Michelle and Marina Ranellone is one of the new players we have stepping up defensively and doing a really nice job,” said the head coach. “Now it just comes down to making sure every player knowing where they’re supposed to be and knowing their assignments.”
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