Kimberly Santistevan’s three TD passes lead Mile High Blaze to national title
3 min readOn Monday, much less than 48 several hours soon after main the Mile Higher Blaze to a national title, Kimberly Santistevan was back again to do the job. Very first there was an early-morning summer camp as a football mentor at Douglas County Superior University, then off to her career as a pre-K teacher.
It was there, doing the job with 4-calendar year-olds, that the magnitude of quarterbacking the Blaze to the most significant feat in Colorado women’s tackle soccer historical past started to sink in.
“I’m however virtually in disbelief it truly took place,” Santistevan explained Monday. “But then I was taking part in capture with a bunch of the tiny ladies. They were being so enthusiastic about catching the football from me… and I was like , ‘Huh, I believe which is type of what my even bigger motive was.
“I did what I did for the reason that I want people ladies to be fired up to play sports as well. That is the 1st time it established in what I had just accomplished.”
Santistevan threw 3 landing passes in the Blaze’s 21-20 victory about the Derby City Dynamite in the Women’s Football Alliance Division II countrywide championship this previous Saturday in Canton, Ohio. The victory produced the Blaze the state’s first women’s deal with team to acquire a national title.
Two of Santistevan’s touchdown passes in addition a pivotal two-level conversion went to wideout Smooth Lowery-Jones, a former DU basketball standout who is now a safety analyst.
And the activity-winning touchdown was hauled in by wideout Stephanie Skinner, an MMA fighter and Starbucks barista who epitomizes the heart and devotion of a semi-professional football workforce showcasing players of all kinds of backgrounds and professions. Gamers range from youngsters to individuals in their mid-50s, who each and every pay back $400 in annual dues although also footing the monthly bill for their individual journey.
“Being in Canton and participating in on the (Tom Benson) Hall of Fame Discipline, it was an wonderful ambiance, and we enjoy how Canton is supporting women’s soccer, so that’s a start out for us to get far more publicity nationally,” Lowery-Jones stated. “Hopefully, all the NFL groups start off supporting their regional women’s football teams, like the Patriots do (with the Professional division champion Boston Renegades).”
Whilst the Blaze’s acquire mandates they transfer up to the WFA’s Pro division future calendar year — the place the competitiveness is heading to be much stiffer — Mile High’s longtime proprietor Wyn Flato-Dominy is stepping again from the club. Flato-Dominy has served as the WFA’s director of operations for the past a few decades and is now using on that position whole-time with a target on “the growth and betterment of women’s football in typical.”
“I’m not going for walks away from the Blaze fully — which is my newborn and I created it — but I did formally retire from the staff and handed it in excess of to (head mentor and new proprietor) Rob Sandlin on Saturday night,” Flato-Dominy explained. “The group offered me the video game ball in the close zone following the recreation, and I let the ladies know it was formal, and every person was crying.”
Flato-Dominy runs Workforce United, an worldwide workforce consisting of WFA stars. She’ll now transform her focus to prepping that workforce — which will aspect a handful of Blaze players, which includes 17-12 months-previous linebacker Leilani Caamal and 40-calendar year-aged veteran defensive lineman Yolanda Searcy — for three online games in opposition to championship Mexican groups in mid-September in Mexico Town.
