“She’s always had a really strong arm. She could throw better than a lot of the guys.”

“She’ll get upset because the girls can’t catch her ball because she throws too hard,” said Gatewood, who also coaches the girls’ team. “For the most part, she’ll drill them in the hands and it’ll fall off. I have to remind her to throw a catchable ball, because she’s not throwing to Michael Irvin. But she can pretty much wing a girls’ football wherever she wants to put it.”…

Gatewood knew he had to prepare her to be hit eventually. Last Wednesday, he brought junior varsity players up to the varsity and taught DiMeglio the best way to take a tackle. She popped back up each time, ready to do it all again.

“Everybody says, ‘What happens when she gets hit?’ ” Gatewood said. “This isn’t a knock on Erin, but she’s bigger than 10 kids on my team. I have a wide receiver that weighs 25 pounds less than her. And the pads she wears are the same as the pads he wears.”