When Alyssa Turay decided to play football last fall

Trent Brown Jersey , she didn’t know at the time how big of an opportunity it truly was.Turay joined the freshman team at Temecula Valley High School, thanks in part to an invitation from coach Ed Avedissian following the Golden Bears’ first game of the season.Football, as Turay says, has always been in her life. So why not play?Turay had three kick attempts during 2018:The first: “I missed. I was so nervous.”The second: ‘Made it!’The third: She got tackled.“So I had all three variations of kicks,” Turay said with a laugh.Turay is also an active soccer player and captain of her squad. She’s considering playing flag football as well, and is learning the proper ways of weight training through a class at school.<noscript></noscript>Turay already has her football goals lined up for this fall: Win the starting kicking job for the junior varsity team and “to be like one of them, to do all the workouts the same, to do everything the same.”Yes, Turay is a female competing in a sport primarily played by males.Yes, Turay thought some of the guys would be ‘mean to her.’But, nothing of the sort happened with her Temecula Valley crew.Turay’s football teammates fully embraced her as part of the team, and rightfully so; they even built her a goal post out of metal pipes.“We didn’t have one so they built us one,” Turay said. “They were very welcoming.”Turay has received plenty of encouragement from her parents, friends and coaches and, in return, she wants to motivate others who may be considering giving football a shot, including several of her soccer teammates and friends.“I want to encourage people,” said Turay Justin Ellis Jersey , who cites motivational speaker as a career goal. “I had plenty of people help me (achieve my goals). When people encouraged me, I always did it.”Turay’s mom, Melinda, is a 49ers fan while dad, Shane, loves the Raiders.<noscript></noscript>As a youngster, Alyssa was told to pick a team and selected the Denver Broncos after seeing Peyton Manning and Co. win Super Bowl 50.“I’ve always watched it (football) since I was young,” Alyssa Turay said. “It’s always been in my life.”Alyssa said she draws inspiration from Vonn Miller, a fearsome linebacker who doesn’t get the credit he deserves for ‘being smart.’“I want to do something that’s both athletic and academic, too,”said Turay, who loves Instagram and singer Sam Smith.Since joining the team, Alyssa has gained respect for football players, especially after lining up once as nose tackle.“It’s a lot harder than you think. You have to remember a lot of stuff,” said Turay, who wears No. 99.Turay said the support outweighs her critics and that most people think ‘it’s pretty cool.’Yes, very cool indeed! GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The hollering in the post-game locker room sounded as if Oakland had just won a playoff game or something.That’s how good victory finally felt for the Raiders.Daniel Carlson kicked a 35-yard field goal as the game ended to give Oakland a 23-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a matchup of teams scraping the bottom of the NFL standings.The Raiders (2-8) Rodney Hudson Jersey , who had lost five straight, matched the record of the Cardinals.“It’s fun to win again,” said Jon Gruden, whose return to coaching this season after a decade away has been difficult, to say the least. “With the injuries and the lack of practice, I really credit our guys for finishing the football game and finding a way to win.”Derek Carr threw for two touchdowns and had completions of 32 and 20 yards on the final drive that led to Carlson’s winning kick.“I was just ready,” Carlson said. “I stayed ready those last two drives because I didn’t know when it was going to happen. I had a feeling it was going to happen eventually. … It’s awesome.”Carlson also had field goals of 49 and 21 yards in the second half after the teams were tied 14-14 at the break.“We all believed. There was never a doubt,” Carr said. “There’s been times when we believed and we didn’t win. It was the same feeling you need to have, same mentality, same look in everybody’s eye. It was a good win.”Arizona rookie Josh Rosen threw for three touchdowns, two to Larry Fitzgerald, but was intercepted twice. Both picks led to first-half touchdowns for Oakland. David Johnson rushed for a season-best 137 yards, including a 53-yarder that set up Rosen’s 5-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals a 21-20 lead with 5:02 to play.Later, Johnson had a 57-yard touchdown run called back by a holding penalty against Ricky Seals-Jones and also had a key drop. That possession also featured an unnecessary roughness penalty on tight end Jermaine Gresham that helped force the punt to Oakland.“It was just a dumb play by me,” Gresham said. “I turned around and saw my guy (Fitzgerald) on the ground. It was a stupid thing. … I cost us the game.”Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 192 yards.Rosen was 9 of 20 for 136 yards, but three of the completions went for scores: 18 and 5 yards to Fitzgerald and a 59-yard pass play to fellow rookie Christian Kirk. Fitzgerald has 114 career TD catches, seventh most in NFL history.“This one is going to definitely sting,” Johnson said. “You know Lamarcus Joyner Jersey , the Raiders, everyone knows they’re trading guys away, they’re doing everything to try to rebuild. This one is a tough one.”Or, as Rosen put it, “No disrespect to the Raiders but we feel we are the better football team. That’s what makes this so frustrating.”The day started badly for the Cardinals and ended that way.On Arizona’s second play, Gareon Conley made a diving interception and returned it 28 yards to the Cardinals 33-yard line. Three plays later, Carr threw to wide-open Jared Cook for the touchdown.Arizona took the subsequent kickoff and tied it with a nine-play, 64-yard drive. Rosen threw 18 yards to Fitzgerald for the touchdown.The Cardinals took the lead when Rosen, changing the play at the line of scrimmage, threw short to Kirk. Kirk, on his 22nd birthday, shook loose from a would-be tackler and raced to the end zone, a 59-yard play to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter.Karl Joseph intercepted a deflected pass at the 50 and Oakland drove from there for the tying score. Carr threw 5 yards to Brandon LaFell for the touchdown .Carlson’s 49-yard field goal on Oakland’s first possession of the second half gave the Raiders the lead. Later in the quarter, the Raiders used 7:39 in a drive that stalled at the 1-yard line and Carlson’s 21-yard field goal made it 20-14.Both of Arizona’s wins came against San Francisco. The 49ers, Cardinals and Raiders are now tied for the worst record in the NFL.TIMEOUT TROUBLESOakland drew a 5-yard penalty for calling consecutive timeouts in the second quarter. It moved what would have been a third-and-2 situation to third-and-7 and the Raiders failed to convert. Coach Jon Gruden was demonstrably upset with Carr afterward on the sideline.INJURIESRaiders: LaFell left in the second half with an Achilles tendon injury. Cornerback Leon Hall hurt his back in the first half.Cardinals: Linebacker Deone Bucannon left with a chest injury in the second half.UP NEXTRaiders: at Baltimore next Sunday.Cardinals: at the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.