Playing with the boys

Football has been known as the ultimate man's game.

In the case of Megan Stedman, it's a wo-man's game.

Stedman is a sophomore at Soap Lake High School who is putting on the pads and stepping onto the gridiron as a member of the Eagles football team. All in an attempt to help Soap Lake make the playoffs.

"I like the contact and you get to hurt other guys," Stedman said. "That is fun for me."

It all started after Soap Lake announced it would continue its football season in 2004 at the B-11 league, moving back from B-8 football. Stedman heard about the following season, had just missed to previous season after her family moved to Soap Lake from Dayton and knew she needed to play her sophomore year.

The summer hit and Stedman was in the weightlifting room preparing for the fall season to start.

Of course, it wasn't exactly a new situation for the Stedman family as Megan's older sister had played at Dayton High School. But, her sister didn't influence her when football practice began.

"When I came out here for tryouts, I didn't have a single memory of my sister in my head," Stedman said. "I did it because I wanted to do it."

It wasn't a new experience for head coach Greg Monson either, who in his 11 years of coaching at Soap Lake, has had one other girl show up for the season. That girl's season ended early due to academic reasons, but Monson expects Stedman stick out the year.

"I talked to her and to see her commitment in the weight room, I fully expect her to," Monson said.

The season is only three games deep, but Stedman has been a contributing player for a team that has averaged 15 players per game and only seven eligible offensive linemen. Monson said Stedman has had no football background and is like a freshman in her first year of football. But, he said she dishes out the beating and takes the beatings like one of the guys.

"Pretty basic, when you cross the track you are a football player," Monson said. "When we tell you to do push-ups you do push-ups."

Not even the players think it is that big of a deal. Captains Collin Barnes and Adrian Guzman said she is just another football player on the team.

Guzman said he didn't think she would last and Barnes welcomed the idea as the Eagles struggled to fill a lineup.

"We have had some girls in the past and have experienced it before," Guzman said.

Monson said the only thing that separates Stedman from the rest of the team is getting ready before and after games. At home, it isn't a problem, but on the road, Monson said Stedman is the first to shower while the rest of the team waits.

Other than that, Monson said no one cares that Stedman is a girl. But, it has given the Eagle fans a new cheering section.

"Mostly the girls love it," Stedman said. "During games I have my own cheering section and they love it."

Girls playing football with boys isn't a new idea or a new frontier that women have made in recent years. Monson said the new generation of youth live with the type of attitude that it is expected for genders to compete together.

Stedman wants to prove she can hang with the boys, but also likes the contact nature of the game.

"What keeps me coming out here all the time?" Stedman said. "Mostly to prove that I can do it and to give the guys a hard time."