Girls flag football officially recognized as school sport in St. Clairsville-Richland Schools

ST. CLAIRSVILLE - The St. Clairsville-Richland City School District recently made a historic decision to officially recognize high school girls flag football as a school sport.

The decision will now allow the student athletes to be able to letter in the sport.

Head coach and school board member Jessica Cook said that the decision makes St. Clairsville the first in the Ohio Valley to officially recognize girls flag football.

"It’s a big step forward for this program, and is an opportunity for these girls to just show what a dream can turn into," Cook said. "I think for many of us, it was a dream to start out, and we pushed through and saw what happens as long as we put in the hard work."

She added that flag football’s been an emerging sport in recent years. Just last year, the OHSAA sanctioned a state tournament which Cook saw as a great opportunity to bring girls flag football to St. Clairsville.

"The Cleveland Browns were a big part of that as well. Their Browns Give Back organization helped provide uniforms, equipment, helped with scheduling, provided the referees and those things," Cook said. "So I said, what a great opportunity to bring this in, and not have a huge expense coming into the first season. That was one of the big selling points. But for me, it was about getting the girls on the field, giving them something to look forward to each and every week to be a part of a team, to learn life skills, and to have leadership skills to build some of that confidence."

She added that she wanted the girls the same opportunities that other school sports provide.

Cook's husband and offensive coordinator Courtney Cook added that he couldn't be more excited for the school board's decision.

"We’re just super excited that it got approved by our school board, and we’re officially the first school in the Ohio Valley to have girls flag football," he said. "We’re hoping other schools now join so we can have some closer games."

He added that the seasonal kickoff next year is in the spring and the team expects to have anywhere from 12 to 15 girls on its roster.

St. Clairsville superintendent Christina Laudermilt added that the board first discussed the idea of making it an official school sport this past July.

"We are really excited just to have another opportunity for our students to participate," Laudermilt said. "About 70% of our student population participates in something, whether it’s athletics, the arts, or some of our other programs. So this is just another opportunity for our kids to get involved."

Quarterback Kiya Kyer added that when the team formed last year she jumped at the opportunity to join. Kyer previously played middle school tackle football for the school's boys team.

She said that she played from fifth to eighth grade, but her family decided it was best for her to not play in high school because the players kept getting larger but she stayed the same size.

"It means a lot to be able to play again because I loved playing football. It was like everything to me when I was a kid. And just being able to throw the ball again, it’s just like a great feeling," Kyer said.

Center Karlee Higgins added that the decision was vindicating because of all of the hard work the team has put into being the best it could be.

"We worked very hard to get to where we are today. We've all put a bunch of work in, and we just love playing football together and showing people that girls can play football too," Higgins said.

Receiver Kaylee Shafer said she is honored to be on the team making not only school history but Ohio Valley history, while defensive coordinator Jack Bence added that he plans for the team to continue to build on all that it accomplished this past season.

In its inaugural season, the girls finished undefeated at 6-0.