It’s all about kids for the Blue Devils, who are always looking to do something special; something out of the box for Huntington High School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School students.
The Blue Devils are developing an intramural flag football program for girls at both the high school and Finley. The idea is that if there is enough interest, Huntington will enter a team into next year’s Section XI flag football league.
In flag football, rather than tackling a runner, the defensive team removes a flag attached by Velcro to a belt around a player’s waist. Contact between players is generally not permitted. Flags are “ripped” or “torn” off the belts by the defense.
The New York Jets are sponsoring the initiative on Long Island, which has already proved to be quite popular in New Jersey. There are eight high schools in both Nassau and Suffolk that plan to field teams in the new league.
Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky wants to give the Blue Devils the same opportunity should there be enough interest. So the athletic department is working to develop an afterschool intramural program at both the high school and Finley.
Tentative plans include after school intramurals one or two days a week for one hour per session for about three weeks to give girls a taste of the sport and to learn about different positions, strategy and the rules. The idea is that Huntington will be able to field a skilled and experienced team next year with a good chance of being successful.
Section XI has even given voice to possible raising girls’ flag football to a varsity level sport in the future. If that happens and if there is enough interest at Huntington High School, the Blue Devils want to field a team.
Huntington High School students who are interested in participating should see either physical education coordinator Michael Marinello (mmarinello@husfd.edu) of Director of Athletics Jim Hoops (jhoops@hufsd.edu) or send one of them an email.
Finley students who are interested can seek out physical education teachers Jordan Ioviero (jioviero@hufsd.edu) or Marissa Bergmann (mbergmann@hufsd.edu) or send one of them an email.
“Why not give it a try?” said Steve Muller, the Blue Devils’ longtime varsity football coach who will be involved in the high school intramural program. “We will make it fun for everyone. It’s something different and really unique. It would be great if Huntington is able to enter a team in the league next year.”