Mother and Daughter Compete on Opposite Sides of Flag Football Rivalry

In the midst of a rivalry between the top flag football teams in Santa Barbara County is a family dynamic years in the making.

San Marcos High School co-head coach Jaylon Letendre cut her teeth coaching her daughter Carly Letendre at the youth level, but now Carly is a senior captain for rival Dos Pueblos High School. 

“It’s hard because we are rooting for each other, so that’s hard; it’s emotional,” Jaylon said. “It’s my daughter; I want her to do well, but I love these girls that I’m investing my time in too. It’s emotional.”

For the past two years, Carly and Jaylon have been on opposite sidelines, but the rivalry between San Marcos and Dos Pueblos reached a crescendo on Thursday, September 4, as the teams were both ranked in the top 10 in the CIF Southern Section and jockeying for position atop the Channel League standings.

Dos Pueblos held on for a 15-14 victory and improved to 12-1 overall this season as San Marcos came up a yard short of the end zone on the final play.

“It felt really good to get the win, because we have been preparing and working really hard in practice,” Carly said. “My mom has coached me since I was in elementary school, so it’s really nerve-racking to play against her because she knows what I am going to do.”

Jaylon coached Carly and many of the other girls on both the San Marcos and Dos Pueblos rosters in the Friday Night Lights flag football league. Those players have now blossomed into stars at the high school level.

“Most of the girls have played for me at some point in their youth career,” Jaylon said. “I started coaching Carly many years ago, and we were the only girls’ team. We would play against the boys every week.”

Despite the narrow loss this week, San Marcos (11-3 overall, 2-1 Channel League) has proven that it can compete with the top teams in Southern California as well. The Royals have played a tough non-league schedule, with their only losses coming to private school powerhouse Santa Margarita.

“The girls are growing and developing, the sport is growing, and I really just love the joy you see when any team is out there playing,” Jaylon said.

The two teams will match up again in the second round of Channel League play on September 30, and with the talent on the respective rosters, a spot in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs is a near certainty for both teams.

“This game puts the 805 on the map in terms of flag football. We are playing good flag football up here,” said Dos Pueblos coach Doug Caines. “This thing is exploding, and I am excited to be at the ground level.”