She’s a 4.0 student, class president, assistant editor of the school newspaper and plays center on the girls basketball team.

“It’s kind of hard managing all those different activities, but they’re things I’m really interested in,” says Alexandria Buchanan, a 15-year-old sophomore at McKinley High School.

She also has a passing interest in football.

That’s not “passing” as in a casual curiosity about the game, that’s “passing” in the sense of throwing the ball. In addition to all of the above, Buchanan happens to be the varsity football team’s starting quarterback.

There have been other 5-foot-5, 130-pound quarterbacks in the history of Hawaii high school football. But Buchanan is the first of her gender. And on Aug. 19 she became the first girl to throw a touchdown pass in a varsity game in Hawaii.

The Tigers nearly won, falling 27-26 to Kalaheo.

“It kind of hurt,” she says. “We’re working hard for (a win) and I’m sure we’ll get one by the end of the season.”

The Tigers have a losing streak that stands at 28. The last time McKinley won was an OIA playoff game in 2013, the year before seventh-grader Buchanan started playing quarterback in flag football.

“I really liked the position, and that’s when I started to fall in love with the sport,” says Buchanan, who was introduced to football by playing catch with her dad, Isaac.

Buchanan also started McKinley’s most recent game, a 57-24 loss to Kalani. She threw a touchdown pass in that one, too, and showed significant improvement.

Her overall statistics aren’t overwhelming (12 completions in 26 attempts for 215 yards and four interceptions), but they’re not bad for a sophomore in just her second year of tackle football.

“She doesn’t look out of place at all,” said Christian Shimabuku, who covered both of Buchanan’s games for the Star-Advertiser. “She’s very poised and she really knows how to sling it.”

Buchanan has proven to her coaches that she’s a legit performer.

“As far as I’m concerned and our staff is concerned, she’s our starting quarterback,” McKinley head coach Pat Silva said Wednesday, as McKinley prepares to play Kaimuki on Friday. “We decided she’s our best option moving forward. She has the highest percentage of completions in practice, throws a really good ball, with good touch.”

Silva already had an open mind about girls playing football. When he coached at Castle in 1995, April Hosino came out for the team and performed well as a linebacker. (April ended up marrying Silva’s son, Sterling.)

Silva was the Tigers quarterback when they played for the OIA championship in 1973. He (and several of his assistants at McKinley) went on to play at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that’s where the movie “Quarterback Princess,” starring Helen Hunt, was filmed in 1983.

Linfield has a 61-year streak of winning football seasons. “We’re working hard to bring that tradition here,” Silva says. “Good things are starting to happen, on the field and on campus.”

The McKinley offensive line is even more motivated to protect their quarterback now — not just because she’s a girl, but also because she’s younger than they.

“I tell these guys, ‘Take care of your baby sister,’” Silva says.

And they have.

“We push harder to play harder and protect her,” says senior right tackle Ezekiel Samuelu.

There’s been some contact, but Buchanan has yet to be sacked in a varsity game.

” ‘We’re making history. Let’s keep it up,’ ” offensive line coach Malcolm Mills tells his players. “They’re up for the challenge and doing a heckuva job. … Before the (Kalaheo) game I pulled Alex to the side with them and said, ‘Gentlemen, we are protecting her tonight. … Protect her as our little sister.’ I explain to them that Alex’s success is theirs, too.”

Last year, when she was a freshman on the junior varsity, it was quite different. It was her introduction to tackle football.

“There was a lot of contact, I got sacked a lot on JV,” she says.

But she never even considered quitting.

“I thought she’d take one big hit and say, ‘OK, I’ve had enough,’ ” says her dad, Isaac. “But it seems to motivate her more.”

Samuelu says Buchanan has her fierce side that includes letting teammates know if they’re slacking too much. “She’s a great leader,” he says.

“I told her, ‘Alex, if your line is not doing what you want them to do, yell at them,’ ” Mills says. “‘They’ll listen to you. You’re the quarterback, you’re the boss of the team.’”

Silva says he asked Buchanan’s parents for their approval before moving her to the varsity.

“Obviously as a parent, even if it was my son and if he’s 6-5 I’d be worried. Anything can happen,” Isaac says. “But I trust the boys out there. They’re like my sons and I know they’ve got her back, and my trust is with the coaching staff. They’ve been amazing, giving her that opportunity.

“My only concern is with her being too distracted by all the attention,” he adds.

But coaches, teammates and her dad all say she’s the same focused but low-key kid she was before that first touchdown pass to Ace Asis three weeks ago.

“She’s an amazing student, first. And that’s the main thing. It’s always been self-driven, of course with some guidance from home. We’re lucky to have two great kids (their son, also named, Isaac, is 11). I’m more the athletic side. The mom (Amy) is always, ‘Focus on the academics.’

“She’s surprising me every day,” Isaac Buchanan says of his daughter.

Pat Silva has seen a lot in 40 years of coaching and officiating. In Alexandria Buchanan he sees a special athlete and person.

“Such a bright young kid. Very humble, too. Goes about her business, does what she can to help,” the coach says. “Sometimes (teammates) shake their heads, the way she throws, the way she nails the pass right on the money. She’s a great young lady and we love having her on our team.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quickreads.