Female flag football no passing fancy: Sport's popularity exploding nationally and locally

Monday night football at Cleveland Browns Stadium takes on a new meaning. Four fields filled with girls competing for a championship. A Saturday afternoon at the Westlake YMCA features a four-team tournament and another festive atmosphere, including food trucks and cornhole. A North Ridgeville High School graduate earns a spot on USA Football's Women's Flag National Team. Female flag football is booming in popularity, becoming a familiar site across Lorain County and Northeast Ohio. "It's here to stay," said Chuck Kyle, who won 11 state football championships at St. Ignatius. Not a moment too soon. "It's been a long time coming," said Isabella Geraci, who will play for the U.S. at the World Championship in Finland in August. Exposure explosion When the Browns began their Girls High School Flag Football program alongside Northeast Ohio Flag Football in 2021, Mentor and Lake Catholic were the only schools to participate. The number of schools climbed to 51 this year, including Elyria Catholic and Lorain. The championship tournament at Cleveland Browns Stadium in May featured 28 teams competing for the trophy Kirtland took home for the second straight year. Women and girls are driving the pace car in the fast-growing sport. Per USA Football research, from 2014-23 the number of girls 6-12 playing flag increased 222 percent, surpassing 129,000 participants. During the same period, more than 100,000 girls from 13-17 played. "It's definitely blowing up," Geraci said. "It's like exponential growth in the past few years." Bob Berwald, a boys coach at Mentor High, started Northeast Ohio Flag Football in 2016 so his son would have a place to play after having a negative experience in tackle. It had 120 kids from Lake County the first year and this spring had nearly 1,500, including almost 100 girls from kindergarten through eighth grade. Opportunities for younger girls through recreational leagues and companies such as T3 and i9 weren't as accessible not too long ago. Elyria Catholic sophomore-to-be Jules Cerny always enjoyed football and would beckon her dad, Joe, outside to play catch. She's a talented basketball player and didn't hesitate to join the flag team when asked by a coach during study hall this year. "I just like the adrenaline that it gives me," she said. The Panthers beat Lorain at the Browns tournament before falling to Mayfield. During the season she told the girls on her AAU basketball team about flag and they wanted to play. So Cerny and teammate Nora Bruder, a sophomore-to-be at Rocky River, decided to stage a tournament. Joe Cerny works for the Y and the 15-year-olds went to work getting sponsors and planning the event for June 1. It came together in six weeks like "wildfire." "It was unbelievable," Joe Cerny said. "It's the power of girls. "They both have this fierce spirit that anything's possible. And Jules keeps saying that the mission of this is, 'I want a safe place where girls can play football.' They're just really inspired by the idea that they can help this grow." Lots of people are looking to spread the word and get involved. Rick Batyko, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, jumped at the chance when the Cernys approached him and plans to host a larger regional tournament. "We want to get as involved as we can and encourage girls and women to get involved in sports. So this fits that mission perfectly," Batyko said. "It's all part of the empowerment spirit. You got to give people an environment where they believe they can." Lofty goal Brownie the Elf roamed the fields behind the Y and the Browns helped sponsor the event. They're a driving force behind the growth of girls flag football in the region. "Some incredible athletes. Some of the plays, the throws that were made were very, very impressive," said coach Kevin Stefanski, who watched the tournament at the stadium. "That needs to be a varsity sport. The fact that that's not sanctioned yet is crazy to me. "It was inspiring." Cornerback Greg Newsome II is an advocate for women's sports and has attended several flag practices and tournaments. The girls line up to get their picture taken with him and he has nearly as much fun as they do. "It's incredible," he said. "I think it gives them a sense that people care about their talents and people care that they're striving to become football players." Kyle, the former St. Ignatius coach, serves as youth football adviser for the Browns. He said an important step in making the jump to varsity sport was the coaches association including those of girls flag teams. The Ohio High School Athletic Association isn't ready to sanction the sport as areas of the state outside of Northeast Ohio lag in popularity and participation. Director of media relations Tim Stried said in an email the OHSAA is monitoring the sport and will continue to discuss its future. "It's really important," Jules Cerny said. "I hope that by the time I get out of school that this is a varsity sport everywhere." It's sanctioned as a varsity sport in 11 states and many others have pilot programs with the goal of becoming a varsity sport. It has a championship and scholarships at the NAIA level in college. Flag will enter the Olympics for men and women in 2028. "It feels like the next step is for the OHSAA to make it a sanctioned sport. That feels where this is building to," Geraci said. "It's going to start building in bigger colleges now, too." Taking an interest Geraci loved football at an early age and played into high school despite being surrounded by boys. She left the sport for years as she focused on basketball and track, only to return to it after college and quickly earn a spot on the national team. Growing up she never envisioned girls would have the opportunities flag has provided. "I was always the one girl on the field at all times and it was crazy," she said. "There was no outlet for girls to play football. It's just very weird." While she was at Cleveland State then University of South Carolina Upstate she noticed and appreciated the popularity surge. "And it's very, very cool to be a part of it, a piece that's helping it grow and push it forward because I feel like women should have that opportunity to play this amazing sport at such a high level," she said. With it finally being provided, they can see firsthand why football's the country's most popular sport. Girls from high schools that don't have teams can play for nearby schools and are pushing for more to start programs. The interest can take hold in grade school. Zoe Cabot, a sixth-grader in Avon Lake, attended a crowded youth clinic put on by the Browns in North Olmsted in February. Her Avon Lake sixth-grade team went on to win a rec league tournament despite starting with almost no experience. It rallied from a 12-0 hole to beat undefeated Olmsted Falls 14-12. "My daughter was not into sports and now plays football," Jamie Cabot said. "She's talking how she wants to try tackle." Jake Sigler coached the team, which included his daughter Anna, and plans to talk to the high school about fielding a team. "Building their confidence huge is pretty cool," he said. "And to know that we're the first team from Avon Lake that has played and that we were actually able to go and win the tournament was even cooler. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life." The game Rules can vary, but it's generally five-on-five on a field 50 yards by 25 yards. Crossing midfield brings a first down, and games consist of two 20-minute halves. The offense doesn't have blockers and the defense has a rusher who must start at a designated distance away from the line of scrimmage. Contact is minimal and the ball carrier can't "flag guard" — using a hand to protect the flag from a defender. She can spin and juke but can't jump. At the Browns tournament, the coach could join the huddle to call the play, although some teams used wristbands to relay the calls, as some NFL teams do. The game is action-packed with a combination of long passes, reverses and interceptions. "It's a great quality of play," Newsome said. Kyle was impressed with the zip on some of the passes by the "legitimate" quarterbacks. Cerny is one of those, as she stands tall in the pocket and delivers. "She's got a heck of an arm," her dad said. "It's turned into where she used to run the routes, now she makes me run the routes. That's exhausting." Sights, sounds and dreams The girls are all-in. Mouthguards and eye black are part of the uniform. A marching band filled Cleveland Browns Stadium with noise. The Elyria Catholic and Lorain teams danced after their game. Geraci said that with flag on the map for girls, they realize it's a thing they want to try and that they "really enjoy" it. "It just needed that extra push and the media getting behind it and the Browns getting behind it, huge organizations pushing it forward and kind of putting a spotlight on it has helped it a ton," she said. "It's just really, really, really awesome to see." Geraci playing for the national team should provide another jolt. "It's a lot of pride for not only North Ridgeville, Lorain County, but the state of Ohio she's going to be representing in the world," North Ridgeville basketball coach Amy Esser said. "It's absolutely amazing. I'm so happy for her. I'm so excited. It just shows you all the possibilities that you can get just by being athletic and playing college sports. And I feel like the opportunities are endless and she's just a prime example of someone who is trying something new." The benefits for the girls are abundant. Jamie Cabot noted the Avon Lake sixth-graders had a reason to march in the city's Memorial Day parade. "Getting the word out, showing to other girls that you can do something like this," she said. "With them being in the parade and showing they were the first girls, it means something. Made them feel a part of something." Elyria Catholic coach Eric Miscuda spent more than a decade coaching men's college football, including at Ohio State. In the first year of the program at EC, he saw the girls thrive and knows things are only going to get bigger. "It's just the start of it," he said. "It's another avenue to get involved with sports." By the end of the season he saw players become leaders and give motivational speeches. "They were competing and having fun. And they were heartbroken when we lost," Miscuda said. "They really enjoyed themselves and they took it personally. It was cool to see." Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @scottpetrak on X.