Sandusky gets in the flag football game

SANDUSKY — Sandusky will host its first girls flag football game Sunday at Strobel Field. The Blue Streaks are part of an 11-team division that will play in the sport's first season in Ohio. A total of 120 teams across the state will play less than a year after the OHSAA approved flag football as a state championship sport. Head coach Mitchell Sweet was approached last year by some girls who were interested in starting a team. He told them to get signatures of interested girls. They returned two days later with 30 names. "The girls wanted to do and were looking for somebody to help," Sweet said. "I said I would and once (athletic director) Robert (Sartor) pushed it through, I applied to be the head coach and was fortunate enough to be asked to do it. "Pretty much everyone who's on our roster now was on that list." The Cleveland Browns were heavily involved in the organization of the sport and the Streaks will play as part of the Browns Girls High School Flag Football Program. "The Browns built the entire schedule and turned it over to us," Sweet said. "For us, there wasn't a lot of scheduling decisions that had to be made, more of the time frame." Sandusky, which began workouts Feb. 1, played its first two games Friday in Elyria. The Streaks won their opener, 30-0 against Black River. The Streaks will host Oberlin at 11 a.m. Sunday and Elyria Catholic at noon. There will be other games played at the same time because the 50-yard fields go from sideline to sideline. Sandusky also will host games March 29 and April 12. Games are played on Fridays and Sundays. The Streaks will play in Orange Division — West. The other 10 schools in the division: Amherst Steele, Avon Lake, Black River, Cloverleaf, Elyria, Elyria Catholic, Medina, Midview, Oberlin and Strongsville. There are 11 divisions statewide. Division winners plus five wildcards qualify for the state tournament. The championship round will be held May 16 at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton. Sandusky played in a scrimmage last week at Magnificat and Sweet was encouraged by what he saw. "We played right with them," he said. "After the scrimmage, their coach told us that we look like a team that's been around and not a brand-new team. That was really nice to hear." Sandusky has five seniors on its varsity roster: Dayzha Laye, Brooklyn Long, Maekhiya Rameau, Ka'Mari Fleming and Zaira Nava. Juniors include Journey Newell, Brooklyn Daniels, Ja'Bri Dennis and Jordyn Hunter. Nine sophomores are on the roster: Ma'Liyah Reed, Vivian Johnson, Kyla Rambo, Layla Petersen, Janya Gutierrez, Brieauna Wright, McKenzi Johnson, Egypt Stockett and Deanna Kimble. The varsity team is rounded out by freshmen Emani Thames and Evangeline Martin. Sweet's assistant coaches are Ryan Codeluppi (defensive coordinator), Azyah Smith-Crager and Wally Zanotti. Thirty-eight Sandusky girls are giving the sport a try. "We didn't cut anybody. We had a ton of interest," Sweet said. "Some girls are dual-sport athletes. We had some track and softball girls who play." This version of the sport includes five girls on the field at the same time. The center is the only player required to be on the line of scrimmage and is eligible to catch the ball. Sandusky will go with a quarterback, running back and two receivers. Long and Petersen are the Streaks' quarterbacks. Johnson, Newell, Rameau and Daniels are among the top skill players on offense. "Once the ball goes past the line of scrimmage you cannot hand it off our run with the ball carrier," Sweet said. "It becomes five defenders trying to get one offensive player. It's very player safe — no blocking, no hands-on, no press coverage." Teams start on their 5-yard line and have to reach midfield for a first down. Touchdowns are worth six points and teams can go for one or two points after TDs. There are no punts or kicks. Four games are played at the same time. Halves are 20 minutes with a running clock. "Games go quick, but they're high-scoring because the game definitely favors the offense," Sweet said. On defense, teams can blitz one or two players. "We try to put as much speed at our blitzing spots as as we can," Sweet said. Sweet has been pleased with how the new sport has been received at the school. "There have been so many people who have come out the woodwork to help out and just stop by and watch practice and offer tips. It's special," he said. "People see that it's new and they care about it, whether it's guys off the boys staff — coach (Jamaris) Brown and coach (Keith) Rankins will stop by practice and offer tips and pointers. "People are being very generous with helping us out. It's been an awesome experience."