After making history as the first team in Compton flag football history, the Tarbabes are back and ready to show how they’ve improved.
“Last year we were fortunate enough to have nine wins with players who have never played the sport before,” Compton coach Jason Carreras said. “I have 14 girls who have game experience. So, they all played at the varsity level last year.”
Compton has five captains this year with Laila Williams, Ja’lynn Davis, Ariel Willard, Venus Quezada and Miah Gibson.
Last season the team’s motto was “Make History,” and this year Compton is looking to “Move Forward” as they aim to improve on the nine wins they had. The Tarbabes were one win away from a playoff spot and they are hungry to make it this season.
“We were so close last year in one game off,” Davis said about what is keeping the team motivated. “I’m pretty sure like that’s our number one goal and just keeping the vibes on that team.”
Williams will be a big part of the team offensively as she will be a big weapon for quarterback Quezada as Compton breaks in the new campus facilities.
“I’m so excited,” Williams said about playing on the new turf field. “They’re modernized now. At our old school, they were either rusty, broken, old or just out of place. It’s a new mindset for the sport. I really love it over here. It’s easier to practice flag football.”
Carreras is excited to see how Williams will do this season with a year of experience under her belt. She’s already made a big impact on the team during their scrimmages whether it’s offensively or defensively.
“We just played Carson in a scrimmage last week,” Carrera said. “She had 12 sacks and pulled 16 flags. She was all over the field.”
Willard will be play both sides of the ball for Compton as a sophomore and is a ballhawk defensively using her football knowledge she learned from her brother Nate, who plays on the football team.
“He’s the reason I got into playing football.” Willard said of her brother Nate. “I got four brothers and he’s my older brother. I think my skills came from him. Without him I wouldn’t be playing sports.”
Quezada will be back at quarterback but will be tested by sophomore Miah Gibson who will also get reps leading the offense.
“Right now, that position is a toss-up,” Carreras said. “Miah is a blessing and has really come in and has challenged Venus for the position. The girls know competition is a good thing.”
While the core of the Tarbabes hasn’t changed, Compton is navigating some rule changes that are expected to change the game and challenged them to look outside the box when looking at their roster.
“Punting was an issue,” Carreras said of recent rule changes to flag football that impacted them the most. “Teaching the girls how to punt has been a little difficult. Thankfully, I have some athletes and some girls that we could watch video together on the correct form of punting and we have athletes that picked it up super fast. Now we have three punters.”
“We want all the heat that’s coming our way,” Willard added. The Tarbabes started the season with wins against Nogales, Dominguez, Compton Early College and Hamilton. They open Moore League play against Cabrillo Monday.
