TEMECULA - Sugar and spice and everything nice? Not even close.

They faced tough and serious opponents, and even a little kicking, tripping, elbowing and pushing, but Van Avery Prep's girls flag football team still managed to throw, run, intercept and score their way to finishing third in the NFL's Flag Football National Tournament of Champions, held in Florida recently.

"Girls can do what guys can do," said eighth-grader Morgan Beal, 13, the team's cornerback. "It's really exciting to come home and say, 'Oh my God, we are the third-place team in the nation.'"

What makes the feat even more impressive is that this is the first year the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade private school has put together a girls middle school flag football team for the annual NFL competition.

"You always have to try new things," said eighth-grader Katalina Lawrence, 13, the team's receiver. "If we didn't have an open mind to trying out, we would have never gone to Florida."

The team of 10 girls - eight eighth-graders and two seventh-graders - faced off against girls who have practiced for years ondedicated city leagueor park and recreationteams instead of school teams, as most public schools don't offer the sport competitively, said their coach, Theresa Bolton.

As it turns out, their whole experience was like a Cinderella story,she added.

"It was pretty much an experience of a lifetime for some of these girls," Bolton said.

The story begins with last year's regional competition. Van Avery Prep officials first learned of the girls division when they took their boys teams to compete. The campus has three boys flag football teams - one junior varsity and two varsity teams.

The school, which asks girls as young as first grade to play flag football during physical education class along with the boys, decided to put together a girls team, and offered spots to the first 10 middle school students who signed up. That was in August, and the roster filled up quickly.

"Football on campus is part of our culture, especially in middle school," Bolton said.

The girls practiced during PE. They also scrimmaged the boys' teams, and often won.

"We practiced with the guys," Morgan said. "It made us better, helped us improve."

But the girls, knowing it was their first year, said they wanted to keep it fun and not stress out about the competition.

They made up cute names for their plays, such as the "Oreo" - where they would fake a running play and then end up passing - and the "Chex Mix" - in which the quarterback pretended to pass the ball to a runner and then throw to a receiver.

When they arrived in Los Angeles in October for the regional competition, they learned there was only one other girls team to face. No one could explain the dearth of teams.

"We were shocked," said eighth-grader Lauren Sherman, 14, the team's running back. "We were expecting 10 teams. Last year, the division was full."

When they played the other team, they were the underdogs, the girls said, adding that they lost the first game. They decided to loosen up and have fun after that.

"We just had fun in the second game, and then after we won the second game we were like, 'OK, we can win this thing,'" eighth-grader Michelle Itabashi, 13, the team's center, said of the regional competition.

Win it they did.

Bolton said the girls' initial investment, back in August, was $20 to sign up and a willingness to dedicate some time. It paid off big time.

The trip to the national competition took place in mid-November. The girls stayed at the Disney All-Star Sports Resort in Orlando. They were treated with a trip to Epcot Center and were given an elaborate banquet and access to extravagant gamerooms, Bolton said.

"It was unclear how big the opportunity was when they won," she said of the regional competition. "A $20 investment ended up being a trip of a lifetime."

The NFL paid for their trip, lodging and food.

During the competition, the girls officially represented the San Diego Chargers, and wore jerseys to that effect. The 20-minute games were played on 70-yard fields. The girls had to coach themselves during the games, which they described as fast-paced.

They won their first game against a team from New Orleans, describing it as "a blowout." Their second game, against the San Francisco 49ers, was more difficult. It was tied 16-16, but Lauren intercepted the ball with 5 seconds left in the game and ran it in 30 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

"That was awesome," Lauren said.

They lost their third game to the team that ended up winning the whole thing, the Philadelphia Eagles. In their fourth game, they played a team representing the New England Patriots. After allowing one touchdown, the girls said they pulled themselves together, changed a few tactics and ended up scoring 28 points to win the game.

That led them to their fifth and final game, in which they once again lost to the Eagles.

Despite the loss, the girls said they had a blast and were thrilled and honored to be there.

"Girls can play football," Lauren said.

The team has become something of an inspiration on campus, Bolton said.

"To be able to be that team that gets in there on a national level, it's been the buzz on campus," Bolton said. "The boys are jealous."

Seven-year-old Isabella Pena, a second-grader who enjoys playing flag football during PE and wants to join the team when she is old enough, said the girls are role models.

"They're cool," she said.

And while a third-place national finish was somewhat unexpected, Bolton said she is not entirely surprised this particular group of girls made it. They all play other sports together, are honor roll students, and are confident and competitive, she said.

In addition to Lauren, Katalina, Morgan and Michelle, the team was comprised of Nikki Rapaport, 13; Katie Clark, 13; Haley Pitkin, 13; Ashley Beltran, 14; Audrey Smith, 13; and Caroline Kittle, 12.

The team was unofficially dubbed the "best ambassadors" at the competition in Orlando by the NFL staff, Bolton said.

"That says a lot about who they are as individuals," she said.