The team was running through the usual preseason workouts drills. The head coach was clapping her hands and shouting encouragement to players as they ran cone drills and practiced center snaps. It looked like ordinary summer football practice.
But really, this was a bit of history — the first gathering of the Jefferson High Lady Panther flag football team.
Flag football is a new fall sport for girls at JHS this year. In the spring, the Montana High School Association (MHSA) expanded a pilot program for flag football which began last year. The MHSA will meet again at season’s end to assess its future, with the plan to sanction flag football as a letterman sport.
“When it first started in Montana three years ago, there were just three schools, then it went to seven,” said Cassidy Parsons, Jefferson’s first-year coach. “And this year, there are 15 schools involved.”
Flag football is similar to tackle football, with some major rules differences. The teams are 7-on-7, and the field is 50 yards long instead of the usual 100. While a regulation football is used, there is no kicking.There also is no contact, and the rules are strictly designed to enforce that. “Tackles” are made by removing one of three flags belted around an opponent’s waist and attached with velcro, and play stops anytime the ball touches the ground.
There are no fumbles. There is no blocking – in fact, players are penalized for interfering with rushing defenders. The quarterback has a 7-second “play clock” to either pass or run the ball, with three downs to advance the ball past midfield (the 25 yard line) or score. A second set of downs is earned after crossing mid-field. If that does not happen, the team has a choice to turn the ball over to the opponent at its 5 yard line or make one last attempt to cross midfield or score. If the attempt fails, the opponent gets the ball at the previous line of scrimmage.
The sport was introduced to Montana by Arthur Blank, a part-time resident who is former CEO of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons NFL team. Blank’s fondness for both football and the Treasure State was the driving force in bringing flag football to high schools.
Enthusiasm for the game is shown in the growth in number of participating schools, and in attendance at a flag football camp held in Lockwood Jul. 25 and put on by Falcon team players. That football camp attracted about 50 participants, including 16 from JHS.
While the boys’ football squad was running through its drills on the school’s practice field, Coach Parsons had her players working out on the main field at Panther Stadium. The practice started with 19 players, and gained another three when cross country practice ended. One of the players had another appointment and left practice early. “That’s the thing,” Parsons said, “These girls all do other things. Cross country or theater and drama. We are really pleased so many have turned out.”
It’s a big enough turnout, in fact, that Parsons is fielding both varsity and JV teams, with 12 players each. “And,” she adds, “in five weeks, it’s over. It’s not like the other sports that have almost year round practices and travel team games.”
Flag football is creating a new option for girls at a school where sports are getting increasingly crowded. “I wanted to play volleyball,” freshman Ashlyn Magnuson says, “But so many girls turned out for that – I think 60 of them. So it would have been really hard to play.” Magnuson says she is excited about getting on the field opportunities in flag football.
“It’s really nice to have another girls sport,” echoed Lily Oelkers, who will be in her sophomore year. “And we are all really good friends from other things so it makes things easier.”
Fellow sophomore Livi (Olivia) Logan tells a similar story. She excelled in soccer at Helena High School before transferring to JHS this year. “They don’t have soccer here, so I thought I’d try [flag football] out.” It turns out her athletic ability carried over between sports, as Logan now is one the better prospects on the Lady Panther team. Does she have any regrets making the change? “Oh no!,” she says with wide eyes, “This is such a great school!”
Another JHS flag football standout is junior KK Morris, who has already won some varsity time for the Lady Panther basketball team. “It’s really nice to have something to do this time of year, before basketball starts,” Morris said.
Coach Parsons shares that enthusiasm, even if flag football is a game she isn’t completely familiar with. “I played all the big sports,” Parson says, “You know, basketball, volleyball, rodeo. I went to college on a rodeo scholarship. So, I kind of know sports and how to coach.” Parsons has help on the sidelines from Assistant Coach Matt Bowman, who does have some background in flag football. “Back in college we had co-ed intramural games and I played and coached a little. So yeah, I know a little about the game.”
The Lady Panther flag football team will open its season in Hamilton on Aug. 31, in an event called a “Jamboree.” Instead of playing against a single team, the Lady Panthers will face several teams in an abbreviated format that features shorter games in a tournament format. Parsons explains that the 15 schools that participate in flag football are widely scattered around the state, so only games against other schools in the region made the regular season schedule. After Hamilton, JHS will host Butte at Panther Stadium on Sept. 5, then play jamboree games at Three Forks, Butte and East Helena later in the season.
And, if everything goes the way these Lady Panthers think, it’s on to Division playoffs, with a chance to defeat two-time defending champion Glacier High School — and maybe establish a new Jefferson Panther sports dynasty.
