Ramos, Cyr Named Santa Rosa Athletes of Month

Santa Rosa Academy's first season of tackle football produced several highlights, including both the male and female Menifee 24/7 Athletes of the Month, sponsored by RE/MAX Diamond Realty.

Senior center and nose guard Ronnie Ramos got his first chance to play anything other than flag football this year and made the most of it. At the same time, freshman Taylor Cyr handled the challenging role of playing safety as a female and proved up to the task.

The Rangers played only four games in their first season, all against JV teams. They didn't win a game, but the experience was a valuable one for all concerned, said Ramos.

"I played a little flag football in sixth grade, but that was it," said Ramos about his previous playing experience. "If I ever wanted to talk football, I would to talk to my uncle Peter (Arballo). I've wanted to play tackle football for a long time. My uncle originally wanted me to go to Heritage, but I liked the engineering program at Santa Rosa so I put academics first."

Although he is being realistic about his future in football, Ramos hopes he can find a way to continue to play in college.

"I've got this little taste, so I want to keep going," he said. "I know I'll have to work like crazy just to have a chance. We didn't win a game this year, but I think we did very well. We held our own, and I'd like to keep playing somewhere."

Taylor Cyr started playing flag football at Cornerstone Christian School after watching her brother. She fell in love with the game and just never stopped playing.

"Actually, there was enough girls to make a girls team that first year, but after that, the other girls went on to soccer," she said. "I just loved playing football. Then I played middle school flag football for three years and I was the only girl on the team."

By the time she got to Santa Rosa, tackle football was the only option. Taylor said it took her months to convince her mother to let her play.

"My mom was super nervous," she said. "She didn't want me to play, but she knew we would be going against JVs. I finally convinced her."

In three games this season, Taylor had eight tackles -- including a touchdown-saving tackle of a running back who tried to run right through her.

"This big kid came right at me and ran me over, but I took him down," she said with a smile. "I grabbed his legs and held on and took him down."

That, among other things, earned her the respect of her teammates.

"I heard at first they didn't really like the idea, but once I made it through summer conditioning and we got our pads and I started hitting, they said, 'OK, she's for real. She can play.' " Taylor said. "So now we're all really close."

Both athletes received certificates from Menifee 24/7 and a VISA gift card from Cynthia Nemelka of RE/MAX Diamond Realty, sponsor of the award.