Boulder City QB a natural
Jeanne Carmell looks over to her coach on the sideline and asks, ‘Hot?’ before taking the snap.
Carmell, a quarterback for Boulder City’s flag football team, knows she has a golden opportunity based off the opponent’s defense and is ready to exploit it.
So after getting the nod, she looks down at her playbook wristband, licks her fingers for grip and then fires an easy completion to a teammate who had a 15-yard cushion from the opposing cornerback.
It is this pre-snap preparation and understanding of defensive schemes that set Carmell apart from all of her Southern Nevada competition.
“Any in-game tweak, she masters it,” Boulder City coach Chris Morelli said. “She’s done a great job progressing and reading defenses. She makes calls at the line.”
Carmell, who accounted for 3,610 yards and 44 touchdowns last season as a sophomore, might be having a better season as a junior.
Boulder City is 14-0 and has outscored its opponents 394-57.
The Eagles, who reached the Clark County School District Flag Football semifinals last season, are one of the favorites to win the title this season.
Carmell is the driving force behind that success. Her poise, arm strength and decision-making make her one of the top quarterbacks among all 34 teams.
And when she’s not behind center, Carmell is making plays on the other side of the ball at cornerback.
“She loves the game of football, and she’s extremely coachable,” Morelli said. “I’m spoiled. I’ve been spoiled the last three years of having her on the team, and, luckily, I get her back next year. … She is probably, if not the top, one of the top quarterbacks in this league. Not only is there the threat of her running, but she’s got one of the strongest arms I’ve seen.”
Carmell, a three-sport athlete at Boulder City, says growing up with all males gave her a competitive nature.
She even played tackle football from the end of fifth grade to the start of high school. But her brother, Trenton, the starting quarterback for the boys team in the fall, suggested she stop because he didn’t want her to get hurt.
“My whole family, I grew up with guys around me,” she said. “And I was best friends with guys when I was younger, so I’d go out and play with them. It just led me to this. My brother wouldn’t let me play tackle football in high school because he said I was going to get hurt. But I’ve been playing with those guys since the end of fifth grade.”
Luckily for Carmell, flag football started her freshman year, and nothing has been the same since.
Her dad, Scott, said his daughter was given a natural ability.
“I grew up in California on a dirt bike, chasing jackrabbits in the desert,” he said. “I didn’t play any sports. It’s just natural (for her). Neither one of (my kids) picked it up from me. We’d watch football on Sundays at home. But maybe it’s the Xbox. I don’t know.”
Carmell, who also plays soccer and softball, says flag football is her favorite sport. But there are still times when she misses lowering her pads and running over defenders.
“I miss playing tackle a lot,” she said. “Sometimes you can get away with stuff (in flag football). If you do it right, you can get away with it. And when I get away with it, I love it because it just reminds me of past years playing tackle.”
She pauses for a moment: “I actually might play next year. I’m thinking about it.”
Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.