Pine Crest RB Sofia Caro aiming for end zone
FORT LAUDERDALE — The brunette pony tail flying from the back of her forestgreen football helmet is the first give away Sofia Caro is on the field for Pine Crest.
This fall, after playing JV football for two seasons and taking last year off to concentrate on lacrosse, the 5-foot-6, 140-pound tail back returned to the gridiron to play for the Panthers’ varsity and has been a steady contributor to their 2-1 start.
“It’s the best feeling,” said Caro, who also plays linebacker and thrives on special teams. “A lot of people ask me if it hurts and it doesn’t really hurt. That’s why I love football. I love competitiveness. I love hitting hard. I love the aggressiveness of the sport.”
Lastweek, in Pine Crest’s 41-0 shutout against Marathon, Caro had her first fumble recovery and added a career-best 28 yards rushing. What’s more, the threesport dynamo — Caro also excels at weightlifting, qualifying for states as a sophomore— kicked off the
game by singing the national anthem.
Caro is not the only new addition to Pine Crest’s varsity squad this season. She and her teammates practice under the watchful eye of Ladell Betts.
The former Washington Redskins running back, a second-round draft pick out of the University of Iowa in 2002, played eight seasons in D.C. before retiring in 2010. A Missouri native, Betts spent the past two years as an assistant and offensive coordinator under coach Eric Davis at Boca Raton, helping lead the Bobcats to last year’s regional semifinals and 9-3 record.
This is the first time Betts has ever coached a female— and hewas surprised.
“She is probably the hardest working player we have on the team,” he said. “Everything she gets out on the field, she deserves. Nothing is handed to her because of her gender. She earns it.”
Betts said he calls more “downhill” plays for Caro because she can read the holes. “She probably has the best vision out of the tailbacks,” he said. “She is very instinctive and natural at the position.”
Pine Crest coach Troy Harrison said Caro fits right in with the team. He also coached her for two years on the junior varsity squad, where she scored three touchdowns as a sophomore.
“She doesn’t expect to be treated any differently and the guys really don’t treat her any differently,” Harrison said.
Team captain Arjun Santhu, a senior lineman, said Caro has an inspiring work ethic.
“She is arguably one of the toughest people on the team,” Santhu said.
Caro is not the first female football player in the county to get varsity minutes; in fact, she’s not the first at Pine Crest.
Anna Lakovitch, a soccer star at the Fort Lauderdale private school from1995-98, was a placekicker for the football team. South Plantation’s Erin Di Meglio became the first female quarterback in Florida high school history to play in a game in 2012.