Mike Ridaught
Close to 400 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) high schools are competing in girls flag football in 2024.
But for the first time ever, Buchholz High School and Gainesville High School are fielding a team.
“Any time that we can add a sport that seems like our school was really interested in having and had a lot of interest in it (it’s a good thing), and it also helps with equity, of course,” said Buchholz Athletics Director Ron Brooks. “I’m a dad of five daughters so anytime we can get more female sports on campus that’s great. I also have a really good coach in Coach (Scott) Jamison who has got some flag football playing experience, so it all kind of worked together just at the right time.”
Jamison was a Hall of Fame flag football quarterback from 1989-1995.
He won four state championships and a national touch title with a win against a team from Canada in the championship game before retiring in 1996. He was inducted into the Florida Flag Football League Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jamison said flag football is “almost like the perfect sport” because of the minimal cost to run it.
He also sees it as a sport with a very high ceiling.
“I think the balloon is expanding,” Jamison said. “I told our girls, and we’ve got some freshmen and 10th graders who are good athletes, college scholarships are going to be there. It’s just a matter of time. I think there are already some schools but by the time these girls are seniors, it will be there.”
Buchholz, which will travel to Forest on Tuesday, March 19, is off to a 3-1 start in its first season.
Jamison and the Lady Bobcats were guests on “The Prep Zone” sports show at Sonic Drive-In on March 6, following a 14-13 win at home against Santa Fe (Alachua) which was highlighted by an 80-yard pick-6 by senior WR/S Kamryn Harper.
Among the differences between varsity boys football and girls flag football is that the field is 80 yards in length, not 100.
Plus, there is no kickoff, and the ball is placed down on the 14-yard line.
There is no first-and-10 as teams must reach the 20-yard line, then the 40-yard line, etc. to get a new set of downs.
GHS and Buchholz compete in Class 2A-District 2 (Region 1) with Chiles (Tallahassee), Forest (Ocala), Leon (Tallahassee) and West Port (Ocala).
“We’re always looking to expand and with Title IX and trying to be equitable, we felt the need to add some girls’ sports and we had a need for it and we’re excited to do it,” said GHS Athletics Director Phillip Knight.
Knight said the interest level has been pretty good.
“We actually had between 20-30 girls that initially came out and had around 20 that completed the paperwork, and it’s new, obviously,” Knight said. “We started the preseason at the Jaguars’ facility, and no one had ever seen a flag football game so we’re learning as we go, but the girls are excited.”
The NFL has gotten behind the sport.
Nearly 50 teams participated in the 2024 Jaguars Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic last month.
Now in its sixth year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic, presented by AdventHealth, is the largest girls flag football tournament in the country and annually showcases some of the top flag football teams in the Southeast.
Through the Buccaneers Girls in Football Scholarship, made possible through a $250,000 commitment from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation, the organization became the first NFL team to create an academic scholarship program for girls who play organized football and are passionate about pursuing a career in sports.
It was also announced in February that the Bucs would host the FHSAA Flag Football State Championships (May 10-11 at the AdventHealth Training Center, which serves as the indoor practice facility for the Buccaneers).
While there are several Marion County schools who have flag football (Belleview, Dunnellon, Lake Weir, North Marion, St. John Lutheran and Trinity Catholic all compete in 1A-District 10), Santa Fe became the first Alachua County school to launch a program last year.
The Raiders have made a dramatic improvement from year one to year two.
“So last year was tough,” said Santa Fe coach Joe Tillman, who took over as head coach three months ago. “They did not win a game nor score any points in their regular season games. So, for me, coming in and taking over a team that struggled so badly last year, the transition from year one to two for the program was a lot harder.”
The Santa Fe alum also plays flag competitively in Jacksonville and has been since 2007, his sophomore year of high school.
Tillman is a world champion and two-time National Champion (USA Flag and UFFL).
“When I came in, I immediately instilled flag football techniques, plays, movements and knowledge,” he said. “Flag is played with a football, but it is a completely different sport than tackle. If you try to coach flag like tackle it will not end well.”
The Raiders compete in 1A-District 4 (Region 1) with area teams Bradford (Starke) and Keystone Heights, along with Baker County (Glen St. Mary), Baldwin, and Middleburg.
“It’s meant a lot to our school to be able to offer another competitive sport for our young female athletes,” Tillman said. “Especially with that sport being flag football. Though flag is a completely different game than tackle, it gives the girls that same feeling the boys get when they take a football field.”
Other schools in the Mainstreet coverage area include Columbia (Lake City) and Suwannee (Live Oak), which compete in Class 1A-District 3 (Region 1).
Columbia (2-4) lost 6-0 at home to Suwannee (8-1) on Thursday.
The Raiders started the season with five straight victories, which included two preseason wins in the Jaguars’ preseason classic.
They allowed 18 points in a one-minute stretch and lost at Suwannee, 24-0, on Feb. 29.
Against Buchholz, Santa Fe led 13-7 with five minutes to play and had the ball at the 2-yard line about to score again but Harper’s pick-6 and ensuing extra point sealed their fate in a one-point loss, their second of the season.
“If we score, it’s 18-7 with approximately four minutes left in the game and we more than likely win that game,” Tillman said.
Following the two-game losing streak, Santa Fe has bounced back to win its last two games against Columbia, 8-6, and at Baker County, 21-20.
“So, to have a team that didn’t score a point last year or win a game to be sitting at 5-2, I’m happy with it,” Tillman said. “Not satisfied with it though. We have a lot to work on.”
Former NFL player Ian Scott, who is the head coach of the GHS football team, is coaching the Lady Hurricanes along with his wife, Crystal.
“When I got here last year a lot of the girls were wanting to do it and asking if I would help so I agreed to help get it started,” said Scott, who has a total of 18 players on his roster.
Scott said coaching girls flag football compared to boys tackle football is “a whole different level of teaching.”
“Just being able to communicate in a different way to a group of athletes that aren’t familiar with football lingo, so we’ve had to create a new language and we’re still working through that because it’s new to me and I have to be careful not to slip into tackle football speak because it falls on deaf ears,” Scott said. “We’re working through that together and trying to figure out what works for us as a team, but that communication piece is probably the biggest difference. It’s a new sport for me and I told the team that as well so I’m learning right along with them.”
GHS (0-3), which lost at home to Buchholz, 42-6, on March 7, will host Santa Fe on Wednesday.
“It’s exciting, we’re glad to get it started,” Knight said. “We’re looking forward to where it’s going to go. We’re going to struggle right now but we think down the road it’s going to be an exciting sport for us and we’re glad to have it.”