With 1:40 remaining in Friday night's season opening football game between South Plantation (Fla.) High and Nova (Fla.) High there didn't seem to be much time left for major drama. Nursing a 31-14 lead and marching the ball down the field to kill time, South Plantation could easily have let the game run out and moved on to week two.
Instead, Paladins coach Doug Gatewood decided to break through a metaphorical glass ceiling, inserting his backup quarterback for two snaps.
Her name is Erin DiMeglio, and she is believed to have become the first girl in state history to play quarterback in a varsity high school football game as a result. According to the Associated Press, some 500 girls have played for Florida football teams, but none have ever entered the game as a quarterback.
There are no official records of other girls who have played quarterback in varsity games in other states, so it remains unknown if DiMeglio is just the first girl to play the position at a varsity level in Florida or the first girl to play the position anywhere in the nation. Either way, the accomplishment is a notable one.
