Girls’ flag football season begins in Prince William County

ASHBURN, Va. (DC News Now) — A new era of high school sports has kicked off in Northern Virginia.

Prince William County Public Schools added girls’ flag football. On Tuesday at the Washington Commanders training complex, there was Osbourn Osbourn Park vs. Garfield in one game, and Brentville vs. Battlefield in the other.

“I’ve been playing football since fourth grade in a different league, so when I came to high school… I knew I had to try out,” said Osbourn Park’s Saniyah Denny.

All four teams traveled to Loudon County because the Commanders made all of this possible. The team announced in August that it would spend $1 million to grow the sport in 127 programs around the DMV.

“It’s important for the Commanders to do this because we believe everyone that wants to play football should have the opportunity to do so,” said Dan Levy, the Commanders’ director of youth football.

The money covers 25 custom Nike uniforms for each program, an NFL flag kit, 10 footballs, and instructional materials. Osbourn Park’s head coach believes the new sport is long overdue.

“If nothing else, it just means that they are not only good enough, maybe even better than some of the male counterparts that they’ve encountered,” said Jillian Roch. “You know, some of them have gone from the boys teams, and now they’re able to have their own team, which is really great.”

Garfield and Brentville win their games. But, on this day, there really aren’t any losers.

The Commanders said they will also team up with the Baltimore Ravens to help get the sport sanctioned in Maryland so there can be a state champion.