ORANGE, NJ — Girls flag football on the high school level has been all the rage.
The sport is growing, evidenced by programs being added at several high schools.
Orange High School is one of the schools that has joined the trend, adding its own program this spring.
“I’m very excited about it, and there is a lot of excitement about it in the community,” said OHS boys head football coach Khalfani Alleyne about the new OHS girls flag football program.
Approximately 80 girls have signed up for the team, Alleyne noted. Despite the cold and rainy weather in the past few weeks, the turnout at practices has been strong during the preseason, much to Alleyne’s delight.
Omar Mitchell, who is Alleyne’s defensive coordinator, is one of the coaches of the team, which was scheduled to make its debut on Tuesday, April 2, in the season opener against Livingston High School on the road. The outcome of the game was after press time.
The Super Football Conference has made a concerted effort for their member schools to add girls flag football programs, noted Allyene.
At OHS, the goal is to make the program just as popular as boys football.
“We want to make it as big as boys high school football,” Alleyne said.
Irvington, East Orange Campus, West Orange and Nutley are among some of the high schools in the area that have girls flag football. In fact, Irvington captured the 2022 state championship.
The previous year, Irvington played in the inaugural state championship game at MetLife Stadium, finishing in second place. This past summer, Irvington traveled to Oregon, where it won the Nike Kickoff Classic title.
The following is the rest of the OHS schedule:
April 9: at Newark Tech, 4 p.m.
April 18: Morristown, 4 p.m.
April 24: at West Orange, 4:30 p.m.
May 2: Mount Olive, 4 p.m.
May 9: Central, 4 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Orange High School Athletics
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