The only football experience that members of the new Calvary Day girls flag football team had before this season was from the annual powder puff game played between classes each year.
But with the GHSA introducing girls flag football as an official sport this school year, complete with competition for a state championship, the game has become a focal point in the Cavaliers’ athletic program.
Athletic director Chad Griffin already coaches the girls and boys soccer teams, and he has taken on the duties of leading the flag football squad.
The season is bridging that of fall and winter sports, and athletes from other sports taking on the challenge of flag football.
“The great thing about this group is we have girls that have come out after cross country season ended, and basketball players who are practicing for both sports at the same time,” Griffin said. “We’ve got soccer players, too, and all of them have embraced it and come out to compete.”
Calvary Day sophomore Hannah Cail is one of the top basketball players in Savannah, and now she’s playing quarterback for the Cavs.
“It’s been real fun to do something new like this and we have a really good group — and we all want to win,” Cail said. “In powder puff, I had played wide receiver, so learning to play quarterback has been hard. But (assistant) coach Nick Grassi has helped me a lot.
“The hardest skill to learn is dealing with the rush. They can come right at you when the ball is snapped, and you have to make a quick decision on where to put the ball.”
The Cavs (2-0-2) opened their season with a pair of ties at Dodge County (19-19) and at home against Portal (6-6). Calvary Day then had a memorable win at Richmond Hill in a heavy rain storm, winning 16-0, before shutting out Effingham County 31-0 on Nov. 17.
Griffin is enjoying the chance to work with the girls and watching them develop as players.
“We ran this play against Effingham where Hannah (Cail) threw a pass out into the flat to Ava Farrelly, who pitched to Mahkayla Premo coming around the end and it worked perfectly for a 60-yard touchdown,” Griffin said. “We had been working on that in practice for like a month, and to see it work like that, it was like an ‘aha’ moment for the girls.”
Cail has some talented athletes to work with in the Cavs’ offense including basketball teammates Premo, a wide receiver/running back, and Nevaeh Hamilton at running back. Maggie Presley, also a standout cross country runner for the Cavs, has five touchdown catches and is a top player on the other side of the ball as a defensive end.
Griffin said it has been a bit of a balancing act working with the team as the cross country season came to an end, and working out practice schedules so basketball players can work out in both sports.
Premo is a point guard for the Cavalier basketball team and was named the Region 3-A East Player of the Year last season. She said everyone is enjoying playing football.
“There’s a lot less pressure playing flag football because it’s the first year and there are no expectations for anyone. We’re just out there having fun,” Premo said. “Basketball is fun, too, but we’ve all been playing for a long time and we have certain expectations we feel like we need to live up to, so there’s a bit more pressure there.”
The game is played in a 7-on-7 format and there are 96 teams playing throughout Georgia. Games are 40 minutes, with a running clock and 20-minute halves.
There will be a pair of state champions crowned this year with two 32-team brackets. Calvary will play in the A-5A enrollment class, and a 6A-7A classification will also be contested. The playoffs are set to begin Dec. 9, with the state title game on Dec. 28 in Atlanta at Center Parc Stadium.
“I played in the powder puff games for the last two seasons and that gave me an idea of how to play football,” Premo said. “But this is so much more competitive, and we’re all taking it really serious because want to win state.”
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Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
