Girls flag football is growing at a remarkable rate: What to know about the 2024 season

The spread of girls flag football across Section V has moved along almost at a remarkable rate.

A total of 31 teams in the greater Rochester region, with no merged school squads in this mix, plan to play in the sport's third season in Section V. The lineup has more than tripled since 2022.

“I had people asking me about it, to join this year," 2023 and 2024 Webster Thomas team member Catherine Rogers said. "They said it looked like you were having a lot of fun.

"I had nothing but good things to say about it.”

There are a few people who have a similar view. Girls flag football's growth spurt just in Section V is on fast forward, compared to other high school sports.

• There are two state tournaments in place beginning this season, certified by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, with regional, semifinal and championship rounds. This is a quick jump from a "pilot program" or experiment in 2022, led by the NYSPHSAA and the three National Football League teams tied to the state.

• Section V crowned two champions in 2023, the first season with any type of postseason or sectionals. The 18 teams were split into two divisions for the playoffs. There are three divisions for sectionals this spring.

• Among the eight schools in Section V which put together the first flag teams in 2022, there was a charter in the city of Rochester, a private, one in a district that includes Allegany and Steuben counties, plus publics in Rochester's suburbs and in the city school district.

"It's not going anywhere," Gates Chili girls flag football coach Jason Benham said. "We were lucky to be a part of it last year.

"More teams will have it than don’t. More schools will have it than don’t."

Benham coached football at Gates Chili for 33 years through 2023, before he retired after the last 22 seasons as the head coach.

"All the games are in the stadium, under the lights," Benham said near the first day of official practices for spring sports.

"It’s a big deal. We make it a big deal.”

2024 Section V Girls Flag Football lineups

Eastridge girls flag football coach Charrise Everett said she could see all of this coming.

"I have family in Florida," Everett said. "My godsister graduated, and she played three years in high school before we even had it here.

"The fact we've gone to 31 teams is exciting, it's awesome. I'm happy to see there are people who are catching on to how popular this is, and they are investing in the girls and the sport."

Section V's team lineup and the head coaches:

Section V girls flag football: Class A

• Churchville-Chili: Dan Corrado

• Edison: Larry Morales

• Fairport: Justin Tucker

• Gates Chili: Jason Benham

• Greece Arcadia: Matt Lapinski

• Hilton: Dave Marean

• Irondequoit: Kelly Moroni

• Penfield - 2023 Section V champions: Jason Johnson

• Spencerport: Marcus Burry

• Webster Schroeder: Ian Insley

• Webster Thomas: Eric Thurley

Section V girls flag football: Class B1

• Batavia: Ben Buchholz and Aaron Fix

• Brockport: Kim Yauchzee

• East High: Cassandra Vann

• Eastridge: Charrise Everett

• Geneva: Matt Deisering

• Greece Athena: Tim Bruner

• Greece Olympia/Odyssey: Pat Coyne and Joey Tisa

• Monroe: Omar Hill

• Northeast College Preparatory: Alexis Mouzon and Martin Young

• Our Lady of Mercy: Douglas Tay

Section V girls flag football: Class B2

• Bishop Kearney: Stephanie Strassner

• Canisteo-Greenwood - 2023 Section V champion: James Freeland

• East Rochester: Nicole Caruso and Mark Loria

• Gananda: Emily Slentz

• LeRoy: Rob Currin

• Newark: Brett Steve

• Rochester Academy Charter: Paul Dyroff

• Rochester Prep: Michael McGee

• Williamson: Matthew Coon

• Young Women's College Prep: Darius Taylor

There are also teams at Franklin in the Rochester City School District and Avon in Livingston County. This pair of teams are "pilot programs" that hope to ease into the sport, according to co-NYSPHSAA and Section V Girls Flag Football coordinator Jen Lapinski.

"At the state level we are at just under 200 teams,” Lapinski said.

Girls flag football rules

There is a chunk of season-openers in Section V on March 25, including Webster Schroeder against Rogers and her teammates at Webster Thomas.

Most teams expect to play up to 10 games during the regular season. Just like baseball, softball and track and field, weather can lead to delays, postponements and cancellations.

The most noticeable rules change for this season is that players can return punts (if they catch the ball before it hits the ground). Here are other features and basic rules:

• There are seven players for each team on the field. Ball carriers are stopped when a flag is pulled from their belt.

"They want no contact (but) there's going to be contact," Section V Flag Football officials assignor Pete McCabe said. McCabe also is a member of the Rochester Chapter of Certified Football Officials in high school tackle football.

"Both (offensive and defensive) players can try to catch a pass. Blocking has to be without moving when past the line of scrimmage, like a basketball pick. Behind the line of scrimmage, you can move and shield but your arms and hands have to be at your side. A lot of players put their arms and hands behind their back. Then, it's up to the defense to avoid (contacting) the offense in that situation."

• Every play, (including punts,) begins with a snap. There are no kickoffs, field goals or punt blocks. Fields are 100 yards long with four 20-yard zones in between the end zones.

• Offenses have four downs to move the ball to the next zone, instead of yardage for a first down. Possessions after an opponent's touchdown or at the start of one of the 25-minute halves begin on the offense's 20-yard line.

“The best thing about this is that the girls love it," McCabe said.

Important dates for Section V flag football

Rogers, it can be argued, was the best player in the section last season. Some coaches and fans would choose Canisteo-Greenwood quarterback Lillian Mullen, a senior last spring. Others would pick Penfield quarterback Mikayla Mrzywka, who is a junior.

This spring, coaches in the section will help put together the first Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Girls Flag Football Team, including the Player of the Year.

Canisteo-Greenwood was the best team in the section in 2023. The Chargers defeated Penfield 18-0 in a matchup of the first Section V champions. Clarence, the Section VI overall champion, then shut out the Chargers 39-0 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, home of the Buffalo Bills.

Just like last season, Monroe Community College is the site of the 2024 Section V championship games. Here is the early schedule for the three Section V tournaments:

• First rounds/quarterfinals/semifinals: May 9-16

• Tournament finals: Class B1 and Class B2 at MCC, May 21; Class A at MCC, May 22

• Class B state tournament qualifier: May 23 at East Rochester

• State quarterfinals: May 25 at Buffalo State

• State tournament semifinals: June 1 at Homer High, Cortland.

• State tournament finals: June 2 at Homer High, Cortland.

"You have to see (Hilton's Mallory) Heise play, the (Catherine) Rogers kid," Gates Chili's Benham said.

'And maybe, it was something I could be good at'

Benham, other coaches, athletic directors and players said one sign of a sport's popularity is the number of athletes from other sports it attracts. So far in Section V, flag football has girls who chase college scholarships in other sports.

Rogers, a senior at Webster Thomas who began to play soccer at about 3 or 4 years old, is on a track to play center midfield at Siena College.

“My brother always played (soccer), he’s four years older," Rogers said. "My dad always coached me. I kind of followed in my brothers’ footsteps, but I fell in love with the game and kept playing."

Rogers went to information meetings about flag football two years ago as Webster Thomas began to pull together a team for the spring 2023 season.

"I remember talking to my athletic director to see about the amount of interest, if we would have enough girls,” Rogers said.

“I ran indoor track (during the winter) but it became too much because of club soccer. Mainly, (flag football) was a spring sport, something new for me to try. It was always soccer, soccer, soccer (in the spring). (Flag football) seemed fun, I've always loved the idea. I would play in the backyard with my cousins and my brother. And maybe, it was something I could be good at.”

Months later, it was time for the first day of practice for all spring sports at Webster Thomas.

"It was hailing and 30 degrees outside, and we had 50 girls," Rogers said. "My coach was worried that we would lose half of them because of the weather, but everyone showed up the next day.

"We went through the season with 50 girls who learned the sport of football. First, we learned about football, then flag football. Even I didn’t know some of them going in."

Rogers played quarterback, running back, linebacker and was also the punter for the Titans.

"It brought together a (collection) of Webster Thomas athletes," Rogers said. "I met so many people that I would've never met before.

"It was a culmination of a lot of sports, people who would just stay in their sport. Or people who found flag football to be their sport.“

Rogers said her father Jim and brother Bailey "loved it. they thought it was really fun to watch, and I would always ask them what I can do better."

Niyla Lloyd, a senior at Eastridge, runs with the school's indoor track team in the winter. She continues to run in the spring, as she holds two jobs and plays a third season of flag football as a receiver, quarterback and safety.

"I used to play with my cousins, and I know how to throw a football. I said, 'I’m athletic, let me sign up,'" Lloyd said. "Our team was very small two years ago.

"Then, we won our first game. I said, 'Yeah, this is something I want to do.”

Fairport athletic director Fritz Kilian and other school officials and athletes decided that Fairport would play in Section V beginning this spring.

“Right, wrong or indifferent people love football, they love tackle football,” Kilian said. “Almost in every (physical education) curriculum in some way shape or form, kids are exposed to flag football.”

The sport checks a few boxes on the list of athletic directors.

“It’s not going to be the most expensive sport,” Kilian said. “You have to then look at what is the biggest bang for the buck. There is a lot of enthusiasm.

"You can go on YouTube, and you're going to get a lot of information from different sports associations, and the NFL has gotten behind it. The Bills have a lot of workshops (and camps). The Giants and Jets are doing that downstate."

Another factor that lures girls into flag football right now, is that it seems less technical than other sports.

It makes sense that the longer an athlete works on how to handle a stick, how to dribble and shoot, how to skate, properly jump, how to ski, swing a bat, field and throw, the better they will become at those skills. So why not dive into those sports at an earlier age?

“If I’m a girl in the sixth-grade and want to play sports, the softball players have been playing on travel teams for years," Kilian said. "I might not want to do that. I’ve seen it in cheerleading, in soccer. It’s like that in field hockey.

“That’s where we are in youth sports. Now, it's confidence. It can be intimidating.”

Kilian said like in other sports, he sees the emergence of travel flag football teams, but at this point, there is room on high school and middle school teams for newcomers to the sport. There are more athletes who need to build the skills and learn the technical parts in order to play the game, than have years of experience in it.

“Everyone is at the same level," Kilian said. "You say, ‘I’m fast, or I can catch. I can run and take off a flag. I’m signing up, let’s go.'

"It's one of the realities of youth sports right now. This conversation (about flag football being less intimidating to join and play) might be different in five years.”

Lloyd said she has found a fit.

"I’m into football. I don’t watch football, but I can throw it,” Lloyd said. "A lot of girls with brothers see the type of experience they have (in football).

"They can finally experience what their brothers experience.”

James Johnson, a native of the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. Follow him @jjDandC on Twitter. You can contact him at jamesj@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V girls flag football is growing rapidly: what to know