Girls flag football: Joliet Central drops program opener to Bradley-Bourbonnais

JOLIET – A new era of sports began Thursday at Joliet Central, as the Steelmen girls flag football team played host to Bradley-Bourbonnais in the program’s first-ever game.

The results may not have been to Central’s liking, as Bradley-Bourbonnais scored a 38-12 win, but the biggest victory was that the Steelmen got a game under their belts.

“We had a lot of fun,” Joliet Central senior quarterback Georgianna Majerus said. “We were really excited to get out there and play. I played with the boys team my freshman and sophomore years, and that really helped out.

“All of us have been working hard in practices. Going against another team helps us figure out what we need to work on.”

The rules for flag football differ from tackle football in many ways, aside from the flags.

The teams play with seven players on a side, and the game is comprised of two 20-minute halves. The clock runs continuously until the final minute of each half, when the clock is stopped the same as a tackle football game, i.e. after first downs, incomplete passes, penalties and a runner going out of bounds.

A team must gain 20 yards for a first down. Also, there is no kicking for a point after touchdown. The team scoring can opt to try from the 5-yard line for a one-point conversion or the 8-yard line for two points. If a player’s flag comes off on its own, she must be touched with two hands in order to be ruled down.

The Steelmen had a bit of first-game nerves in the early going, as a few dropped passes prevented them from sustaining any long drives.

Bradley-Bourbonnais took advantage of great field position in the first half, scoring on each of its first four possessions. The Boilermakers could not convert after any of their first three touchdowns and held an 18-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first half. The Boilermakers’ Leah Swilley then intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Kylie Stanek passed to Meara Pizur for the two-point conversion and a 26-0 lead with 47 seconds to play until halftime.

On third-and-20 with just a few seconds left until halftime, Majerus scrambled around the right end, got around the corner and sprinted 80 yards for a touchdown, pulling her team to within 26-6 at halftime,

“We made some nice plays,” Central coach Carlotta McLaurin said. “It was definitely interesting. Playing other teams lets us know what we have to work on, so now we will get to work. It’s tough building a program from scratch, and the referees were very good about letting us know what we had to do to stay in the rules.”

Bradley-Bourbonnais added to its lead on its first drive of the second half, getting a 26-yard TD pass from Munsterman to Stanek for a 32-6 lead. The Boilermakers then got a 21-yard TD run by Nevaeh Brown, but Joliet Central’s Ta’lyanna Nicks intercepted the conversion pass to keep the score at 38-6.

On Central’s next drive, Majerus launched a deep pass to Ta’Niya Banks, who had gotten behind the Boilermaker defense. Davis had her flag pulled at the Bradley-Boubonnais 12, and two plays later Majerus scrambled for an 11-yard gain to the 1. On fourth down, a pass fell incomplete, but defensive pass interference was called, and Central had the ball on the 1.

On first-and-goal, Majerus shoveled a pass to Alexis Pedrosa to cap the scoring with 1:06 remaining.

“When I saw Ta’Niya behind their defense, I was just hoping I could get the ball to her,” Majerus said. “I got it there, she caught it and took off. That felt great.”

McLaurin was happy to see her team improve as the game went on.

“We only lost 12-6 in the second half, so we did play better,” she said. “Now our girls have an idea of the speed of the game and the girls on other teams, so we will keep working.

“It was great to be out here. We had a lot of fan support, and that was great to see. These girls have worked hard so far.”