Dallas Cowboys defensive back Adedayo Odeleye lunged for the flag, but Ella Ezell, a fourth grader at Remysne Elementary, stayed light on her toes and just out of reach.
Ella was the only student left in the flag football drill and managed to hold out until the whistle.
“At the end, I was just like – get away – wait till the time runs out,” Ella said as she darted off to the next drill manned by Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert.
Across the Remynse field, Cowboys receivers Ryan Flournoy and Jalen Brooks, along with Cowboys mascot Rowdy – possibly the biggest star of the day – ran another group of students through receiving drills.
Flournoy threw a pass to Brooks to demonstrate, and Brooks dashed to the far cone.
“What do we do in the end zone?” Brooks asked the students. “We dance!”
The students were happy to follow Brooks’ directions, including third grader Madelline Garcia.
“It’s actually kid of fun,” Madelline said after making the catch and busting out her dance moves. “But it makes me a little tired.”
Third grader Vicky Nguyen was probably a little tired, too, after she gave it her all in a run through the agility ladder.
“Good job!” Mazi Smith, Cowboys defensive tackle, told Vicky with a high five.
Actually, all the third and fourth graders were probably a little tired after going through five flag football drills yesterday, part of a PLAY 60 NFL FLAG-In-Schools Futbol Americano Camp event put on by the Cowboys at Remynse. Nine Cowboys players and Rowdy pulled up to the school in their big blue and white bus to encourage the students to get active and be healthy by spending at least 60 minutes every day playing.
Cowboys Radio sideline reporter Kristi Scales emceed the event and helped pump up the students.
“Have fun!” she said. “That’s the number one thing today.”
But the focus wasn’t all on physical fitness and playing flag football. It was also about academic growth as each student received a new Cowboys-themed math workbook produced by Blockchain.com.
“Our teachers reported that our students loved receiving their math books and making connections with their current learning,” said Remynse principal Selena Ozuna.
By the time the big Cowboys bus pulled away, the players had made a big impact.
“According to our third and fourth graders, this PLAY 60 event was ‘the BEST day ever!’” Ozuna said. “I have to agree, while I get to do many fun things as a principal, this has truly been one of the most exciting experiences I’ve been part of. The Dallas Cowboys are welcome back to our campus anytime!”