The Fredonia flag football team is pictured with members of the Buffalo Bills during a training camp event Saturday at the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse at ADPRO Sports Training Center. Photo courtesy of Fredonia High School Athletics

It’s no secret that Western New York loves its football and much of that stems from the close proximity to the Buffalo Bills. All over the area, many young athletes look up to the Bills and aspire to be like the players they watch take the field on Sundays. For many years that has been reserved primarily to male athletes at the high school level.

But this year that’s not the case.

Starting this Sunday, girls from Jamestown, Southwestern, Fredonia, Cassadaga Valley, Clymer/Sherman/Panama and Chautauqua Lake will compete in a Pilot Division for girls flag football.

“I think that just the opportunity to play flag football is huge,” Southwestern head coach Jake Burkholder said. “We’ve got 25 or so girls playing, they’re playing flag football as well as other spring sports. I think it will continue to grow this Sunday.”

Girls flag football is something new to Western New York with programs starting only a few years ago in the Buffalo and Rochester area and now it has made its way to Chautauqua County. With the help of the Bills and the NFL’s Flag Football initiative, the sport is continuing to grow. This past weekend athletes from Section VI and Section V were invited to the Buffalo Bills ADPRO Sports Training Center on One Bills Drive.

“The NFL has made a huge push,” Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando said. “Having Buffalo in our backyard is phenomenal, everything the Bills do in our region to promote the sport, it was very classy on the Bills and NFL’s part.

A couple of Bills players also gave some words of wisdom as the girls embark on this new journey.”

The locals schools that attended included Fredonia, Southwestern, Chautauqua Lake, Clymer/Sherman/Panama and Jamestown. All of the teams attending were treated to an introduction, ran drills, scrimmaged and even met some of the Bills players including Damien Harris, Brandin Bryant, Micah Hyde, Kair Elam, Siran Neal and Trent Sherfield.

“Their support has been tremendous,” Clymer/Sherman/Panama head coach Chris Payne added. “Being able to go a hour away, it’s really a blessing for us to have that so close. The players were really nice guys, they were cordial, took pictures and talked to the kids.”

For the local teams it served as some of their first live action against opponents and that experience gave them an idea of where they need to get to.

“It was our first live action,” Burkholder said. “It was definitely a learning experience. We went into it making sure everyone got an opportunity to play.”

For the teams in the Pilot Division, this Sunday is when the league season will begin at Charles A. Lawson Field where all the teams will be hosted by Southwestern. However, that will not be the first match in Chautauqua County as Dunkirk has already begun league play in Section VI’s Division 3 against several Erie County schools.

The Marauders are coming off a 12-0 win over Depew this past Saturday, but this Wednesday they will get to host Fredonia in the first intercounty matchup ever.

“There’s a familiarity, these girls have competed against the Dunkirk athletes,” Bertrando said about Wednesday’s game. “We talk about being truly pioneers, being the first in something is rare. They’re going to be the first group to represent Fredonia in flag football. It’s going to be electric, under the lights at Karl Hoeppner Field, it doesn’t get much better than that in my opinion.”

One of the aspects of football that has kept many away from the sport has been the brutality of it, but that certainly has not stopped the athletes from wanting to be involved in the game. The nature of 7-on-7 flag football will take away much of that aggressive physical contact, but the girls will be able to showcase their skills on the football field.

“Around the county our girls are super competitive,” Payne stated. “These girls are not shying away from anything. These girls are aggressive without the full contact, but the flag is a nice start for them. I think the girls are definitely tough enough to play this sport.”

The Pilot Division in which many of the county teams will be playing in is just the beginning of flag football and this past weekend at the Bills Fieldhouse the girls learned where the sport is headed.

“It was a really remarkable experience,” Bertrando said. “I thought the NFL program did a phenomenal job giving them some insight on how big this thing is. It was mentioned that by 2028 it could be an Olympic sport which I thought was pretty cool.

There are goals of flag football being played at a collegiate level on scholarship and even someday of becoming an Olympic sport.

“This will hopefully keep some engagement and interest going forward for the girls in the sport,” Burkholder said about the experience at the Bills Fieldhouse. “Scholarship opportunities are starting up at the next level so that’s an opportunity.”

But before it reaches those heights, the local teams will join Dunkirk in action as Fredonia plays its rival Wednesday. Then things will really take off on Sunday when the Pilot Division with Clymer/Sherman/Panama, Southwestern, Fredonia, Jamestown, Cassadaga Valley and Chautauqua Lake all playing on Sunday at Charles A. Lawson Field.

“All the games are played at the same location every week,” Burkholder said about the league. “This week we will host it, Week 2 is at Jamestown then Week 3 at Chautauqua Lake. Games are scheduled at 3, 5 and 7.”