Northville's coach believes he can make anyone a flag football player

Northville coach Chris Manno talks to his players during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League practice on Monday, April 20, 2026.

Games are on weekends, typically when track meets and soccer matches aren’t being played.

And he’s streamlined the playbook and terminology so every player can quickly grasp their role on the field without feeling like they're learning a foreign language.

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“It was definitely a struggle learning how to play football at first because a lot of us didn’t know how to play it, especially learning the plays, learning how to pass and learning how to catch,” said junior QB Elise Tappy, whose primary sport is swimming. “But I think we’ve all gotten the hang of it by now, and I know we’re going to do really good in our games.”

The Mustangs are one of 39 new teams joining the Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League, organized by the Detroit Lions and now in its fourth season.

They’ll compete in the All Grit League division alongside Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Saline, Ypsilanti Lincoln and the P-CEP Prowlers, the co-op team between Kensington Lakes Activities Association rivals Canton, Plymouth and Salem.

Northville's Izzy DeFour rushes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League practice on Monday, April 20, 2026.

The ultimate goal is to go undefeated against conference opponents and earn a berth in next month’s state tournament at Ford Field, home of the Lions.

“I really am happy to be part of this team, and it’s been really awesome so far,” junior receiver Brooke Schabel said. “It’s been a lot of work, like working on knowing the plays as best as we can and learning about the game overall because it’s such a new sport, but I’m really excited about being able to help the sport grow and progress.”

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They have 28 players on their roster, with most available for their Week 1 game April 26 at P-CEP.

Some have past experience in local elementary and middle school leagues, while many will be playing in their first official game against the Prowlers.

“It’s been really interesting because I’ve never done anything like this,” said junior Maddie Chirgwin, who also competes as a high jumper on the track team. “I did play powder puff for our school in the fall, but it’s been really cool learning even more about the sport since then. I didn’t know much about it prior to this, so being able to learn the game with my friends and see how exciting it is has been really cool.”

Northville's Elise Tappy passes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League practice on Monday, April 20, 2026.

Of course, some players are very familiar with the game, like freshman receiver Izzy DeFore, whose older brother, Max, has been the starting running back for Northville’s varsity football team, earning first-team All-KLAA and team offensive MVP honors.

If she wasn’t attending one of Max’s games or practices growing up, she was participating in local flag football leagues. She even has experience playing QB, which helps her better understand how to run routes and where she needs to be on the field.

“I played two years of flag when I was younger, competing against all boys teams as our quarterback on those teams,” DeFore said. “I had to know every play, and it was a good experience for me coming here. I’m able to help some of the people who don’t have a background in sports get used to the plays and knowing what to do.”

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Others will be using their skill sets from other sports to guide them through this experience, such as freshman QB Taylor Chrzanowski, who was the sixth man on Northville’s varsity girls basketball team this past winter and should be the Mustangs’ starting point guard of the future.

For her, finding an open receiver is a lot like letting a play develop on the hardwood.

“My basketball experience helps a lot because I can keep my eyes up and know how to make the right decisions under pressure,” Chrzanowski said. “That should help, especially with everyone still learning the game and connecting as a team. But it’s been a lot of fun, and there’s been a lot of improvement already since the start of the season.”

Northville's Addy Anton rushes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League practice on Monday, April 20, 2026.

Others competing for the Mustangs this spring include Jenna Chrzanowski, Samantha Smith, Addy Anton, Naomi Chou, Willa Bonsall, Brynn Bartel, Eliana Bacon, Harseerat Kaur, Ella Piper, Reese May, Vannah Katarski, Juliana Gennaro, Lili Vettraino, Amira Abukhader, Isabel Allen, Katie Mentzer, Helaina Freij, Katia Biyashev, Ny Hande, Alyssa Reed, Charlotte Bysouth, Alyssa Brown and Natalia Defrancisco.

The team expects growing pains in its first year but believes the athleticism of its multi-sport athletes will give it an edge.

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“This being our inaugural season, we’ve had to start from ground zero,” Manno said. “We had to go back to the basics, the fundamentals. We’ve had to show them how to catch, how to throw. We had to take smaller steps before we opened the floodgates and started installing our offense and defense. We threw a lot at them at first, seeing how much they could process. A good majority of them picked it up really quickly, and they’ll continue to as the season goes on.”

Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.

This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Northville's coach believes he can make anyone a flag football player