New Orleans – USA Football’s U.S. Men’s and Women’s Flag Football National Teams won gold medals in front of an international crowd of approximately 1,000 spectators at the conclusion of the IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship on The University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s campus Friday, July 7.
With his latest triumph, quarterback and New Orleans resident Darrell “Housh” Doucette claimed his second gold medal with the Men’s National Team in the past year.
Video assets and photo assets from the games are available for media use. Videography is courtesy of USA Football/HomeTeam Live. Photography is courtesy of USA Football.
From July 5-7, the U.S. National Teams faced the best teams from North and South America and emerged undefeated. The gold medal match reunited rivals as the Men’s National Team defeated Mexico 40-36. Former NC State star, NFL Legend and NFL Global Flag Football Ambassador Torry Holt, Carolina Panthers Legends Steve Smith Sr., Mike Rucker and Mike Tolbert, and current Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn were in attendance during the week to take in the exciting action.
Doucette was indispensable for the success of the team, earning MVP honors in the gold medal games. Doucette’s track speed and elite agility put Mexico’s defenders in the spin cycle all night as the men’s team finished the week with a 7-0 record.
Doucette attended St. Augustine High School in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. While in high school, he participated in bowling, football and track and field.
Doucette returned to Louisiana after starring on the track team at Druid Hills High School (Atlanta, Ga.) and played intramural flag football at Xavier University of Louisiana for several years, rediscovering the sport he played while growing up. Doucette also helped coach the university’s NAIA women’s flag football program in 2021.
Doucette also earned a roster spot on the 2021 U.S. Men’s National Team that won gold at the IFAF Flag World Championships in Jerusalem, Israel and the national team that won gold at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Ala.
The Americas Continental Flag Football Championship was hosted by USA Football, the sport’s governing body, and sanctioned by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the international governing body for the sport of American football. The championship is part of the biggest-ever cycle of global flag football competition in the run up to the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, in Lahti, Finland.
USA Football and IFAF are hopeful that flag football’s exploding international popularity will secure the sport a spot in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Flag football’s popularity is booming in the United States and internationally. An annual participation study from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) in 2022, showed 7.1 million people in the U.S. participated in flag football with approximately 2.5 million people routinely engaging with the sport. Seven states plus Southern California have sanctioned girls’ flag football as a varsity sport.
2023 U.S. Men’s Flag National Team roster
Jersey; Name; Position; Residence
#0 Corey Webb; DB/Center; Dallas, Texas
#1 Bruce Mapp; WR/DB; Philadelphia, Pa.
#2 Deven Turner; Rusher/WR; Tampa, Fla.
#3 Jordan Oquendo; DB/Rusher; Spring Hill, Fla.
#4 Laval Davis; WR/Rusher; Jacksonville, Fla.
#5 Aamir Brown; DB/WR; Philadelphia, Pa.
#7 Darrell “Housh” Doucette; QB/Center; New Orleans, La.
#13 Velton Brown Jr.; WR/DB; Orlando, Fla.
#14 Laderrick “Pablo” Smith; WR/QB; Pompano Beach, Fla.
#15 Frankie Solomon Jr.; DB/WR; Dallas, Texas
#21 Jamie Kennedy; DB/WR; Pompano Beach, Fla.
#31 Johnluis “LuLu” Hernandez; DB/Center; Miami, Fla.
Alternates for the 2023 U.S. Men’s Flag National Team
Name; Position; Residence
Terrance Bunting; WR/DB; Orlando, Fla.
Andy Fuentes; Center/DB; Miami, Fla.
Shaquille James; DB/Athlete; Philadelphia, Pa.
Dana Taylor; DB/Athlete; Dallas, Texas
Head Coach: Jorge Cascudo
Assistant Coach: Patrick Alley
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.
