Akeila Brown is hoping for a breakthrough this year from the East Bay High flag football team.
"We've made it to regionals all my years here, but we've always lost," said Brown, whose best finish during her high school career is a second round loss in her sophomore season. "I want to change that this year."
Brown, a rusher, is one of the players East Bay coach Michael Cooper will count on this season to lead his team.
"We lost some experience last year, including our No. 1 and No. 2 scorers," Cooper said. "Akeila is a four-year varsity starter, and she's also one of the reasons we've taken a big step forward athletically."
Coming into this season, which begins with a March 14 home game against Durant High, Brown's 142 pulls, the equivalent of a tackle in flag football, are already a school record.
Cooper remembers a specific play from last season that exemplifies Brown's drive on the field.
"We were playing Freedom, and Akeila - who's 5-foot-nothing - jumps up and tips a pass from their quarterback - who was about 5'10" - catches her own deflection and runs the ball back for a touchdown," Cooper said.
Brown, who also plays volleyball and basketball for East Bay, is a self-described military brat who has lived in Puerto Rico, Nevada, Virginia, California and South Carolina, before settling in Gibsonton four years ago.
Even with some familiar faces gone, she is confident that the team will be ready for the start of the season.
"We have to do a better job of staying in our zones on defense, and I think we need to work on our chemistry on offense some more," Brown said. "We've still got some people in this group who have gone pretty far."
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