The Dos Pueblos Girls Flag Football Coach, Douglas Caines, was awarded the runner-up in this year’s Los Angeles Rams Southern Section CIF Girls Flag Football Coach of the Year Award at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 28.

“I almost, truthfully, felt undeserving because there’s so many good coaches out there, but I was honored,” Caines said.

Caines was nominated through Dos Pueblos High School and voted by other coaches across California. Several other schools had nominees, including Mira Mesa High School, San Ysidro High School, and Ayala Ruben High School.

Caines made it to the final three for the Southern Section. Finalist Amy Campbell from Ayala Ruben won the award and a prize of $2,500.

Caines was brought to SoFi Stadium to watch the Arizona Cardinals play the Los Angeles Rams and got to watch on the sidelines as the players warmed up.

“It was awesome,” Caines said. “I’ve been in many NFL games. I’ve never been in a luxury suite or the box, so that was a new experience.”

This is the DPHS Girls Flag Football Team’s second season in a row as Channel League Champions, with an overall record of 17-6. They made it to the CIF Division 1 Quarter Finals and lost 33-14 against the number two team in the nation.
The Girls Flag Football Team had a strong season, making into the first round of CIFs.
In the first round, player Brooklyn Hendricks scored an interception against Aliso Niguel High School in the first half of the game and threw 5 touchdown passes. Player Sophia Pixley played in the Los Angeles Rams senior flag football game after being named DPHS’s all-star flag football player.

After beating a team that was 8-0 in the season so far, Caines talked about how practice is a big factor of winning a game.
“And it’s not that beating them by a lot is what was satisfying, it was seeing our preparation show up on the field,” Caines said. ”It was clear that we were the more prepared football team.”
Last year, the girls flag football team made it to the championship and won. It was their first season at DPHS and the first year that girls flag football was recognized as a CIF sport.
“Last year was magical, and that was the first time we ever did it,” Caines said. “There was no expectation. I was just proud; everything was new.”