Submitted The Warren G. Harding girls flag football team takes a photo with Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, second row center, during the Ohio Girls High School Flag Football Championship Tournament on May 11 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.

Last week, the Warren G. Harding flag football team got a chance few experienced in their high school careers.

The Raiders took the field at Huntington Bank Field, home of the Cleveland Browns, for the first Ohio Girls High School Flag Football Championship Tournament.

Sixteen teams from northeast Ohio converged on Huntington Bank Field for the all-day event. Harding beat Lake Catholic 24-20 in the first round but fell to Berkshire 42-26 in the quarterfinals. Willoughby South eventually beat Edgewood in the championship.

“A lot of them were excited just being in that big environment,” Harding head coach Justin Blair said. “It was cool seeing them be somewhere they’ve never been. For the players and coaches, I feel that was a great experience for them.”

Blair has plenty of experience as an assistant coach on the gridiron, but there was a bit of a learning curve when transitioning to flag football. It took a minute to adjust to 5-on-5, but he preached to the girls to have fun while learning the game.

“Before this, I’d coached boys football for the past nine years,” Blair said. “So going from tackle football to flag — being able to put a different product out there and finding the girls a home where they can be their own person — it’s really rewarding, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.”

Harding had 31 girls interested in the school’s new team, and by the time the playoffs rolled around, there were still 17 on the squad. The team was made up of two seniors, seven juniors and the rest were sophomores and freshmen.

The Raiders started the year 1-2, but they won five straight before falling in the quarterfinals in Cleveland.

“Some of them had never played a sport before, so just getting them involved and active,” Blair said. “I had some athletes — basketball players, some cheerleaders, some soccer players. I was really just getting them used to playing a different sport than what they’re used to, and I think once it came together, we were able to do some really good things.”

Girls flag football is not sanctioned by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, but the NFL has pushed for more involvement in the sport in recent years. That includes Cleveland Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski, who attended last week’s tournament.

Harding is the only Mahoning Valley school with a girls flag football program, and its opponents this season came from the Akron-Cleveland area. Blair would like to see other local high schools pick up the sport.

“If there’s another athletic director or another coach, if they want to learn more about flag football, reach out to me or the Browns to gauge interest,” Blair said. “We’d love to have more teams in our area so we don’t have to travel to Cleveland to play football.”

Blair wants to hold a flag football camp during the summer for the current Harding students, as long as the school administration approves it. He will also try to help build interest in the incoming high school students.

He’d also like to get the Raiders in a couple of summer tournaments. That way he can see how the girls have grown and where they can improve going into the flag football team’s second season next spring.

“They really exceeded expectations,” Blair said. “I didn’t know what to expect when I got the call. When we first started, we dropped to 1-2, so I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot. But as the season went on, we lost one more game.”

According to the Cleveland Browns, flag football has grown from a couple of teams in 2021 to over 50 teams in 2024.

Coaches or administrators interested in starting a flag football program for their school can visit https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/community/youth-football/girls-high-school-flag-football to register.