THE BENICIA WILDCATS flag football team is off to a solid start this season. The team is (standing from left) D.J. Asiasi, Zachary Austria, A.J. Cabral, coach Jordan Katz, Dayton Bracelin, Owen Wittry, Charles Tatro; (front row) Terry Finn, Jacob Morgan, Myles Cooper, Jake Holcomb, Carlos Largaespada Jr. and Jax Core.
A group of Benicia first and second graders are learning the game of football by playing for the Benicia Wildcats in the Next Level Flag Football League.
The flag football games, featuring 5-on-5 competition on a 40-yard field against other teams from the Bay Area, are played Sundays at De La Salle High School. The Wildcats are off to a 3-1-1 start this season and hope to make the league’s Super Bowl in early March.
“They’d never played flag football before and it’s been an absolute blast,” said Wildcats head coach Carlos Largaespada. “They just love it.”
All but one of the 12 Wildcats is from Benicia, and teams can stay together as it progresses to older age divisions.
“I’ll get to stay with my team all the way through sixth grade and it’s a great opportunity for them to play together for several years,” Largaespada said. “It’s a little bit challenging because some of the offensive plays are complex, but I know their personalities and they’re so fired up about learning and winning. We have by far the most points in the league.”
Every player gets a chance to play different positions on both offense and defense. Myles Cooper and Carlos Largaespada Jr. have been standout quarterbacks, while teammate Jax Core leads the team in touchdown receptions and interceptions. Other standout players for the Wildcats include Dayton Bracelin (who leads the team in rushing yards and rushing touchdonws), middle linebacker A.J. Cabral, Jake Holcomb and Jacob Morgan.
“We want to keep the kids engaged,” coach Largaespada said. “They need to develop and experience all of the positions instead of being pigeon holed into one position. A lot of parents are scared to put their kids in tackle football so this is a good way to introduce them to the game.”
The Next Level Flag Football League features several different age divisions from kindergarten through sixth/seventh grade. For more information on the league, visit their website at nextlevelflag.com. For more information on the Benicia Wildcats flag football team, contact coach Largaespada at (510) 290-1101.
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On the local flag football league article a player was left out. Dayton bracelin leads the team in rushing yards and rushing touch downs.
Otherwise great article!
Dayton is listed under the team photo and has been added to the online version of this article. Not every Wildcats player was mentioned in the article.