This past fall marked a historical milestone for young women in sports at Marist High School: the creation of the first ever girls flag football team. This past season the girls took the field signifying a powerful shift in school athletics and opening the doors for girls in male-dominated sports fields. For the first time the sound of cleats on turf didn’t just belong to the boys.
The Marist team played other schools from across Illinois. When students and staff found out there was going to be a flag football team last February, it spurred much excitement.
“It created such a strong atmosphere amongst our students,” said coach Mrs. Laura McDonough. “We were thrilled that Marist decided to add this to their program.”
A few months later Marist started publicizing the new sport, getting students to come out and start learning how to play the game. The girls started participating in fundamental camps at the end of July and began various practices leading up to the season.
In addition to McDonough, the coaching staff was led by former boys head football coach and teacher Ron Dawczak, Coach Rob Topps, and Ms. Kiera Hilliard.
“It helped so much having Dawczack as a coach… It definitely helped the team because he knew what he was talking about which opened up more opportunities for us. It brought a lot of experience to the team,” said senior Megan Hansen.
Star quarterback and two-sport athlete junior Rylee O’Connor joined because she was looking for another way to get involved at Marist while still being able to be with her friends.
“I joined to play football because I was looking for another sport to be involved in during the fall and thought it would be fun. After realizing flag football as a real sport, my competitiveness grew along with a desire to win and get better”.
Flag football started at the end of August and wrapped up at the beginning of October. The girls built strong bonds with teammates and created life long friendships during their season.
“The bond we built was strong. We spent everyday together having fun and learning new things. I got close with seniors I never thought I would be friends with and will and am so sad to say goodbye,” said O’Connor.
The girls ended their season with a record of 7-6 winning over half their games, with a memorable win against rival Mother McAuley. Marist and Mother McAuley have had a long standing rivalry since Marist went co-ed in 2002. With both schools having a flag football team, students and coaches were looking forward to seeing who would ultimately come out on top.
“The most rewarding part was beating mother McAuley but also beating St. Laurence in the last play of the game,” said McDonough.
The girls are looking forward to playing again next year and being better than they were this year.
“I can say after understanding the sport better over time the team will come back better than ever next year,” said O’Connor.
