Morris flag football players, coaches celebrate sport's surge at MetLife Media Day

EAST RUTHERFORD — There's not a lot of pressure on Morristown High School football players this spring. The boys are in the weight room, and the girls are gearing up for their fourth flag season.

And many of them are also participating in other sports at the same time.

On Thursday, the New York Jets celebrated girls flag football with Media Day at MetLife Stadium, similar to what they host for the Super Football Conference in mid-August. In contrast to the intensity of varsity football, flag football is more a friendly competition for most of the teams involved.

"My favorite part of football is seeing everyone who looks different, from different places, all working together for one goal," Colonials senior wide receiver/safety Olivia Voltaggio said. "My team is a mosaic of all different people. A lot of our athletes have never played sports before. We offer an environment that is like a family."

NJ flag football surges

Flag football was defined as a club for its first three seasons, but has been upgraded to "pilot sport" status by the NJSIAA for at least the next two years. Nine states sponsored 913 girls flag football teams in 2022-23, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations survey, with 361 in Florida, 198 in Georgia and 138 in New York.

There were 83 New Jersey schools with flag programs last spring, according to NJSIAA executive director Colleen Maguire. It is still considered a "non-strenuous sport," Maguire reiterated at a Dec. 6 meeting, so girls can participate in it as well as another spring sport, like lacrosse or track and field.

The NFHS is in the process of codifying rules for flag football which would then be used around the United States.

Jets sponsor North Jersey league

The Jets sponsor the North Jersey league, which has grown from the original eight to 52 teams. Jefferson, Montville, Morristown and Mount Olive represent Morris County.

A Jets news release said the team sponsors nearly 200 high school flag programs and more than 3,000 female players across New Jersey, lower New York State and Long Island this spring. The Jets will also once again host the New Jersey championship on June 9 at their practice facility in Florham Park.

More: 'Jersey kid’ Dan Quinn, a Morristown grad, introduced as new Commanders head coach

In return for its investment in flag football, the NFL is growing its fan base among younger girls. Jefferson senior Maggie Gesek, who also plays volleyball, said she now flips on the TV on Sundays to learn more that she can apply in flag games.

"It's good for them to have the understanding from watching routes and knowing the plays," said Falcons coach Katelyn Cannarozzi, who schedules flag practice around her girls lacrosse team. "The girls have that creativity, and they tell us what's going to work."

Bringing flag, tackle football together

A flag field is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide, much smaller than for traditional football. There are cones marking midfield, and each 30- and 10-yard line. Teams have four downs to reach each cone, with the 10-yard line marking the start of the end zone.

There are no kickoffs, and the center tosses, rather than snaps, the ball to the quarterback. After a touchdown, teams can try for one, two or three extra points.

There isn't supposed to be contact, but several of the girls on the dais joked about that rule. Most flag teams run similar plays to the tackle programs at their high schools. Many of the flag coaches are also fall football assistants.

When Mount Olive launched its flag program two years ago, athletic director Colleen Suflay came to varsity head coach Brian O'Connor first to lead the girls. For the first spring, he went from the weight room to flag practice, or vice versa. But now he's solely devoted to the girls during flag season – including Izzy Kolbusz, a senior tight end/linebacker/punter on the Marauders' flag team who became the varsity kicker in the fall.

O'Connor estimated that 90% of the flag team also plays varsity soccer in the fall, and most are seniors.

At Montville, seniors Ava Failla and Alexis Riley have taken to Instagram to try to recruit new players.

Though Riley plays goalie on the varsity ice hockey team, she faced a little resistance from her parents when she asked about flag football – mainly because she might get hurt, and she's aiming to continue with hockey in college.

"You have to find a balance between hard work and having fun. I think we're going to find it again this year," said Failla, a cornerback on the football field who also participates in track and field and plays guard on the basketball team.

"We have so many athletes (at Montville) and we want them to come and play with us," she said. "It's a community and we're excited to build it."

Jane Havsy is a storyteller for the Daily Record and DailyRecord.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

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This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NY Jets host flag football Media Day at MetLife Stadium