Laguna Beach High School senior Bella Rasmussen became the first girl in California to score two touchdowns in a high school varsity football game on Oct. 14.
Rasmussen had touchdown runs of one and four yards in the second quarter of the game, making it her fourth touchdown in her high school career. In addition to her two touchdowns, she has 10 carries for 23 yards and a 16-yard run, according to MaxPreps. Rasmussen was not initially aware of the historic nature of her performance.
“I had no idea that was such a big deal,” Rasmussen told TODAY. “I felt that I had just played a game, a great game, with some of my favorite people.”
According to Cal-Hi Sports, she became the eighth girl in state history to score a touchdown in a varsity football game. Laguna Beach ultimately won the game 48-0 against Godinez Fundamental High School at Santa Ana Valley High.
Rasmussen first expressed interest in football when she was three-years-old, thanks to the influence of her older brother and cousins. She started playing at the age of seven and continued throughout her academic career at Laguna Beach as the running back and defensive end.
Rasmussen recalls the initial unwelcoming nature of her teammates. However, her teammates’ attitudes improved as she became older.
“Some of them were pretty mean,” Rasmussen told ABC7. “But I think that came with a lot of age. I think that as maturity grew they were more and more accepting and ever since we started playing in high school there’s never been a football player that I’ve been on a team with that has told me they didn’t want me there.”
As Rasmussen reflects on her historic performance, she feels she has fulfilled her goal of revolutionizing the sport.
“Since I was a little kid … I just remember for so many years, I was like, I want to be on that field, I want to do something insane, I want to make an impact on the team,” Rasmussen told OC Varsity. “When I finally did it, it was something where I feel like, if my younger self was looking at me now, she would be so proud. I feel like she would be so proud of me. And I’m proud of her because she kept pushing through.”
Hanah Kitamoto is a Sports Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at ykitamot@uci.edu.
