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Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP
TORRANCE, Calif. - The quarterback on Bishop Montgomery High’s team throws like a girl because, well, she is one.
Spectators would be hard-pressed to pick sophomore Miranda McOsker out of the blur of players on the field. Her brunette ponytail blends into her black jersey, and she can throw the ball accurately for 40 yards or more.
The 15-year-old McOsker is the starting quarterback for the junior varsity team and the third stringer on the varsity. She also plays JV girls basketball.
The 5-foot-9, 140-pound McOsker got into a varsity game recently after the Knights built a 28-0 halftime lead against Ribet Academy and the No. 2 quarterback was injured. She threw for three touchdowns — the longest was 65 yards — and went 3-for-5 for 175 yards playing the entire second half of the 55-14 win.
But she’s no gender-barrier breaker, just a girl who finds football fun.
“Football is one of the best sports for the family atmosphere,” McOsker said. “These boys are your brothers. You will be with them forever. I love it. They are the nicest group of people.”
She went out for the private Catholic school’s team last spring, after not even attending a game as a freshman.
“I thought I could do it, so I tried it,” she said. “To play for your school is one of the best things you can do.”
Playing with boys isn’t new. In middle school, she was one of two girls on the flag football team.
“I admire her a lot because she’s doing what she wants to do,” said T.K. Carter, the mother of receiver Kevin Carter III. “He said he really admires her because she knows the plays.”
Wednesdays are Spirit Days at Bishop Montgomery, where athletes wear their jerseys instead of the regulation school uniform. McOsker makes her own fashion statement by adding a skirt.
“She’s just tough. No one messes with her at all,” said sophomore Sarah Prather, a friend. “Everyone has her back. It’s pretty cool. I’m jealous.”
Girls playing prep football are still a novelty, with 253 girls among 100,000 high school students who play in California.
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But McOsker is leery about the burst of attention she’s received since her breakout performance. Her father has fielded calls from the Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman and Ellen DeGeneres shows — she turned them all down.
“I don’t think I really deserve it. It’s just because I’m a girl,” she said. “When I first started getting all this attention, the first person I went to talk about this was my parish priest. I pray to God, ‘Please, your will be done. If this is your plan, then I’m there for you.”’
McOsker’s mother, Connie, describes her daughter as deeply religious and said that, when Miranda was little, she wanted to grow up to be pope. Among her current career ambitions are firefighting (it runs in her family), coaching or religion.
More than anything, McOsker doesn’t want the attention to detract from her teammates.
“I’m very grateful, but sometimes it’s a bit much because I’m a JV quarterback, we’re a JV team,” she said. “We got a great group of guys over here, but we don’t win all the time so it’s not something that most people would be interested in. I hope that all this publicity is good for the school and good for the football team.”
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.