Buchholz Bobcats making history: First-ever girls flag football

“Cats on me, Cats on three!” It’s a team chant that may go down in history.

The girls huddled together to deliver the chant are among Buchholz High School’s first-ever competitive girls’ flag football team. Students who have never played the sport came out to the field excited to learn the game of football.

“Seeing my friends happy when they catch the ball and pull flags has been my favorite part,” Tione Prince said.

Prince, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she has never played before but wanted to try something new. She said she was excited to win games during the season.

“I told the girls you have a chance to make history here,” Scott Jamison said. “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of something we’re starting together.”

Head coach Jamison, 67, has been a senior clerical worker at Buchholz for a year and a half. When the principal found out he played competitive flag football for 16 years, he brought the idea to him to coach, he said.

“I was all for it,” he said. “This is one more sport that allows the girls to get out there and compete.”

Second-year athletic director Ron Brooks, 46, said flag football was a sport they were considering as they contemplated having another female sport. “The biggest driving force was just giving our female athletes another opportunity to compete,” Brooks said.

Flag football is an up-and-coming sport for boys and girls in the Florida High School Athletic Association, he said. Santa Fe High School was the first high school in Alachua County to start a flag football team just last year. Gainesville High School followed by adding a girls flag football to the athletic program this spring.

Buchholz held tryouts Jan. 29 through Feb. 2. Around 24 girls showed-up each day, Jamison said. Practice began Monday and will continue daily as they prepare for their first preseason game Friday.

“This is going to be like learning a foreign language,” Jamison said to the girls. “The more we do this, the more fluent we should get at understanding the dynamics of the game.”

The Bobcats will compete in two games at the Jacksonville Jaguars Girls Flag Preseason Classic Friday and Saturday. The NFL franchise will welcome a field of 46 high school girl teams at Everbank Stadium and Daily’s Place FlexField.

“We look forward to having this opportunity at the beginning of the year as it gives us a big kickstart to the upcoming season,” Brooks said.

The regular season schedule features three home games and six away games. The furthest the team will travel to is Ocala, to face the Forest Wildcats March 19.

Coach Jamison has help from two Buchholz faculty members, offensive line football coach Matthew DiBernardo and assistant flag football coach Nicole Hipple, 26.

Hipple said she teaches Earth Space Science at Buchholz but manages team duties as the team mom. “I bring the water, Band-aids, take care of the paperwork and listen to the girls vent,” she said.

The 20 varsity girls will wear gold and black uniforms for game days, but the team is desperately looking for sponsors to help with funds, she said.

Aniya Williams, a 17-year-old junior, runs track and is on the cheer team. She said she joined flag football because she loves to watch the sport.

“I wanted to get the insight of what it’s like to play,” she said. “I’m excited to go to the games and get closer with everyone.”

The only freshman on the team, Jasmine Hardy, 15, said she has never played any sports but loves running. Quick on her feet, she has quickly learned to use her speed offensively and said she hopes to be a running back.

“Football runs in my family, and I always wanted to play tackle but I can’t because I’m a girl,” she said. “So I joined this girls’ team and can’t wait to compete.”

Cross country athlete Grace Shannon, a 16-year-old sophomore, said both her brothers play football, so she wanted to continue the “Shannon” legacy.

“I like how everyone is uplifting to each other and trying to be their better selves everyday,” she said. “It’s exciting to have a new team and to start a new Bobcat Legacy.”