Few people know Kaila Green. “Mouse,” on the other hand, is starting to make a name for herself on the flag football field for Homewood-Flossmoor High School.

“Kaila doesn’t exist,” Green said. “My family don’t even call me Kaila. Kaila doesn’t exist.” 

The nickname evolved from “Squirrel,” a moniker Green got as a freshman basketball player because of her frantic style of play. She didn’t like it. 

Flag football assistant coach Evan Bercot was a basketball assistant at the time. He suggested a change to “Mouse.” It stuck.

“It was still a rodent but it’s better than Squirrel,” Green said. “I don’t mind it. I think it’s cute.” 

And it fits, Green admits. Her teammates say so, too. Team captain Izzy Thurman said she didn’t know Green well before the season but now understands the moniker.

“(Mouse has) energy, so much energy and such a good vibe,” Thurman said. “She’s so fast and she’s got very good hand-eye coordination so she’s a very good player.”

Whatever Green’s called, the Vikings (7-3) are glad to have her in the backfield. The senior running back had 1,017 rushing yards, 123 receiving yards and five total touchdowns, through Sept. 18. She also had a pick and three sacks on the other side of the ball.

The rushing yardage puts her second in the state, unofficially, behind Conant’s Arianna Dugo (1,191). 

“Being a senior, a kid who’s been involved in sports her entire time here at H-F, she’s been good for us,” coach Walter Collins Jr. said. “She’s been like a Swiss Army knife, going out at receiver at times, blocking her butt off, playing some snaps on defense. She’s doing a little bit of everything.” 

Flag football isn’t Green’s first foray into sports. She tried field hockey and track, in addition to basketball. But nothing really felt right, she said, until flag football.

She found she could play without thinking on the gridiron.

“When I got here, I just knew how to do things. With basketball, I had to be coached. Here, they tell me how things need to look and I just do it,” Green said. “The way I feel running with the ball, it’s more like instinct than a mechanical thing. It’s so much easier to just do things.” 

That sport brought Green out of her shell away from the field, too. She said she’s doing better in school and has more confidence in herself in all aspects of her life. 

She credits her coaches and teammates.

“This is like my family. I didn’t even know their names at first but I love them dearly,” Green said. “I’m not a super talkative person unless I’m super comfortable but these people have made me super comfortable. I really appreciate that.” 

The Vikings are closing out the regular season, with the postseason set to begin with regionals on Oct. 6. Every team makes the playoffs. Over 200 schools fielded a team in the sport’s second season. The brackets, announced Sept. 25, will be seeded.

H-F believes it can make a run. The Vikings beat Crete-Monee 50-0, Glenbard North 41-0 and Andrew 32-7. They won six of the last seven games. 

Junior Paris Jones has taken over at quarterback and settled in, Collins said. The defense is making plays. And there’s a Mouse in the house. 

“Our team is good. I know we’re good and I know we’re capable of winning,” Green said. “Why not keep it going?”