Erin DiMeglio, the female quarterback who earned national attention for her first varsity high school football appearance on the final day of August, reached a major milestone on Friday, though it will come with an incredibly interesting official statistic.
Entering South Plantation (Fla.) High's 41-12 rout of Piper (Fla.) High on Friday, DiMeglio notched the first completed pass of her career. The completion came on DiMeglio's second attempt of the game, on a relatively routine screen pass.
That completion was the good news, yet it also brought bad news for South Plantation: The play accounted for a loss of yardage. Precisely how many yards were lost on the play remains a subject of debate, with the AP citing a 5-yard loss on the down and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel claiming that it accounted for just a 2-yard setback.
Clearly, no quarterback wants to start his -- or in this case, her -- career with a stat line that reads 1-for-2, minus-5 yards. Still, DiMeglio and her teammates will probably take that completion as a way to get her passing career started.
"Completing a pass was one of my goals," DiMeglio told the Sun-Sentinel. "I can check that off. My next goal is to complete a touchdown pass."
In her first appearance during South Plantation's season opener, DiMeglio made it onto the field but only handed off. This time was different, with the signal-caller getting a chance to air it out on a pair of short throws.
Those passes are all part of a plan with the aim of helping DiMeglio throw a touchdown pass before season's end. The 5-foot-5 senior girl is one of the South Plantation backup quarterbacks but has only been used late in one-sided games as her coach, Doug Gatewood, attempts to ensure that she can be kept safe in the pocket.
So far, so good on that count. Now DiMeglio just needs to find a way to get some positive yards through the air, and maybe even cap off a drive with a scoring strike.
"My teammates are great and our team is very good. I am just excited to be doing what I love with great people," DiMeglio told Prep Rally in a Facebook message. "I did not try to be the first girl QB, I just love playing football and am happy I have the opportunity. The feeling is awesome, only thing that can beat it is when I throw a TD!"
Given her early opportunities, DiMeglio will get a real shot at that first TD pass before the season is out.
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