Bella Rasmussen was worried that some people maybe missed her first touchdown in a game on Oct. 14. So she quickly made a resolution that had her running right into the high school football record books.
“I was like, just in case you didn’t get to (see it) the first time, I’m going to do it again," Rasmussen told NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz on TODAY Thursday.
Rasmussen, 18, who is a senior running back at Laguna Beach High School, became the first female player in California history to score two touchdowns in a varsity game when she did it in a 48-0 win over Santa Ana Godinez.
Rasmussen had touchdown runs of one and four yards in the second quarter of the win. She is the eighth female player in state history to score a touchdown in a varsity football game, according to CalHiSports.com.
“I had no idea that was such a big deal,” she said. “I felt that I had just played a game a great game with some of my favorite people.”
Rasmussen's teammates hyped her up before the game, telling her they knew she was going to wind up in the end zone.
She was hoping to get the ball down near the goal line, and when she got her first chance, No. 24 took the handoff and plowed it up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown.
"I’m looking at coach, 'I’m like, Nah, man, I got it. I can do it," she told Schwartz. "I’m saying this to myself over and over and over again. I’m in the end zone. And I remember I just stood up and I was like, 'Did anybody see? This actually happened?'"
Plenty of people took notice, including the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, who invited Rasmussen to their win over the Carolina Panthers at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 16.
Rasmussen has played running back and defensive end for all four years at Laguna Beach after also playing at the youth level.
Her mother, Annette Rasmussen, said her daughter was only 3 years old when she fell in love with the game, playing with her older brother and cousin.
"From the time she was walking, she was so physical and so tough," Annette said on TODAY.
Rasmussen has ignored doubters along the way who tried to talk her out of playing, especially at a physical position like running back.
"I get it all the time," she said. "Those those boys are going to hurt you. They’re not going to want you, this is a male sport.'"
That's far from how it has turned out as the only girl on the field with her team.
"It’s like having 80 older brothers," she said. "They’re all super irritating, but I love them all to death. I know they all love me, and they want me here and they want to see me succeed."
The 5-foot-9, 135-pound running back has not shied away from playing a bruising position. She has 10 carries for 23 yards, including a 16-yard run, to go with her two touchdowns, according to MaxPreps.
“She’s a football player, she really is,” coach John Shanahan told the Los Angeles Times. “Any time we want someone to run against the first defense, she steps in. She takes a beating, never whines, never gets hurt. She’s a really tough kid.”
She said in a video for the team's Instagram that she plans to go to the University of Utah to study interior design. Before she heads off to college, she looks to help the Breakers, who are 5-3, continue their winning season with a mentality that has served her well.
"Be the hammer, not the nail," she said.