Central Ohio flag football teams put perfect records on line at regional

North will play another unbeaten in No. 6 seed Grafton Midview (10-0) in the quarterfinals. Fairbanks will open against No. 13 Madison (12-4).

Led offensively by senior quarterback Kacee Bohan, North has scored between 14 and 26 points in all but one game, a 6-2 win over Ready on April 26.

Westerville North flag football player Nakiyah Traylor (21) begins an agility drill during the Warriors' May 4 practice. North will participate in the Cleveland Browns Girls High School Flag Football regional tournament May 11 at the University of Akron. Behind Traylor is teammate Gabby Connor.

The Warriors have given up just 77 points, and eight or fewer six times.

Sophomore Kimora Jefferson gave some credit to North’s tackle football team, which also is coached by Jackson and has helped the flag team with fundamentals throughout the year.

“They’ll scrimmage us and tell us what we did wrong,” Jefferson said. “They’ll even say it during the scrimmage. … We really didn’t know how hard it was to do something like pull the flag. It might look easy. It’s not as easy as it looks.

“One wrong turn and a wrong grab and that [opposing player] is gone. You’re not getting that flag if they turn the right way or they are running fast enough through you, or if you dip down too low.”

Connor, who approached North athletic director Wes Elifritz last year with perhaps the first mention of starting a flag team, has played every position except quarterback. She shared Orange Division Player of the Year honors with Westerville Central senior Audrey Reed.

“We just were a bunch of people brand-new to this and we all loved it, but we had no clue that coming into this, we could actually go undefeated,” Connor said. “Now we’re looking at the possibility of a state title, which is awesome. We just have really good coaches and great team community. I think it really shows on the field.”

Fairbanks is 10-0 entering the Cleveland Browns Girls High School Flag Football league’s 16-team regional tournament May 11 at the University of Akron.

Fairbanks relishes undefeated season

Brought on during the winter to coach an 11-player team that includes his daughter, Mara, Jason Vicari admits he did not see a 10-0 season on the horizon.

But the Panthers find themselves putting an undefeated record on the line at regional after a regular season that saw Fairbanks outscore its Brown Division opponents 373-108.

“We want to make it a fun atmosphere, but the competitive juices naturally started flowing with this group we have just because they have played other sports,” said Vicari, who splits coaching duties with Magdalena Espada, Becky Andrews and Sam Warye. “I think that nervousness going in is natural, not knowing what expectations will be. We were playing bigger schools and the rules are different. Everything was kind of just a mystery, but we have worked through it. The girls have adapted quickly. They’re a very athletic group.

“We’re very fortunate to have some versatile girls.”

Two of the team’s eight seniors have shared time at quarterback in Jolie Porter (79 of 112, 1,178 yards, 29 TDs, 3 interceptions) and Sara Lynch (53 of 65, 702 yards, 14 TDs, 3 INTs).

Sophomore Logan Fillman has turned into a two-way star, leading the defense in tackles (29) and sacks (3) along with rushing for 245 yards and seven scores on 21 carries and catching two touchdown passes. Freshman Harper Landon’s 48 catches for 727 yards lead all receivers, and senior Hannah Boehm has a team-best five interceptions.

High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school flag football teams chase first OHSAA title