Valley Stream District’s flag football team came into the season with a ton of unknowns. It graduated 18 seniors off last year’s roster, but others have stepped up to fill voids. This team is led by sophomore captain quarterback/safety Joeyce Forero.
VSD is 6-2 overall and 2-2 in Conference 1, with four shutout victories coming against Roslyn on March 19, Glen Cove on March 21, Roosevelt on April 9, and Long Beach April 13.
“Having so many unknowns this year, I think our identity this year is that fight, that grit and going on the field and playing 100% until the final whistle,” VSD coach Brian Kelly said. “One of the big things about the Valley Stream District flag football program is we want to make sure these girls feel like family. They get along very well and the team chemistry is there.”
Forero has been the engine of the offense with 744 passing yards, 659 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns while also adding playmaking abilities on the other side of the ball, racking up 7 interceptions, one of which she returned for a score. In a 25-0 win over Roosevelt, Forero picked off three passes.
“We have phenomenal leaders this year, one of which being [Forero], who is arguably the best player in the conference,” Kelly said. “Joeyce is very vocal. She’s the leader of the team. Everyone looks up to her.”
Senior wide receiver/safety Gabby Rivera and senior running back Kaylah Merilan both make huge impacts for this team. Rivera has recorded 239 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Merilan has over 300 yards on the ground and 6 scores, but contributes defensively with over 30 flag pulls, with more than 10 of those coming for a loss. Seniors Alyssa Haughton and Antoinette Lashley round out the receiving core.
“[Rivera] is the longest tenured member of our team,” Kelly said. “She's kind of ushering in this new generation. She remembers everything we did with the old team, and she's helping bring those values and help the girls see the way we do things with the new team. That bridge right there has been invaluable.”
In the team’s 25-0 win over Long Beach, junior Daphne Vives caught her first touchdown of the season and Forero tossed 3 touchdowns. It was another scoreless outing from Kelly’s defense.
“Defensively, we played well,” Kelly said. “We had a good plan coming into the game and the girls executed nicely. [Senior] Kiah Bernard and [sophomore] Akoi Clarke-Phillips fly to the ball and pull flags really well. [Senior] Adia Blake and [junior] Arianna Gonzalez put tons of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.”
Even though VSD is coming off a 19-6 loss to Syosset April 16, Kelly knows what it has to work on once it looks at the drawing board.
“Syosset is always a tough matchup and we couldn’t find any open space.,” Kelly said. “We still have work to do and it’s an opportunity for us to fix some things that didn’t work and get better.”
VSD is back in action Thursday at 5 p.m. when it hits the road to face Plainview for a Conference 1 clash.
