Laney Girls’ Flag Football Ready for New Season and New Opportunities

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —A new season means a new opportunity for girls across North Carolina. High school girls’ flag football is officially sanctioned, and local Cape Fear teams like Laney are stepping onto the field with something to prove.

For players who have watched the sport grow firsthand, the moment is a milestone.

“I’ve kinda seen flag football grow in a way for girls from the beginning to now, so I feel like it’s an accomplishment for a lot of girls,” said Laney senior running back and blocker Liz Mejia.

Laney’s girls’ flag football program started in the spring of 2024, giving its players a front-row seat to watch the sport develop. For junior quarterback Lucy Devane, playing football is nothing new.

“I have been playing football since I was really small, at least four years old. I’ve been playing with the big boys since I was little,” Devane said. “So it just feels good that I can get back into a sport that brings out the better in me.”

Now, that opportunity is expanding across the state. More than 150 schools across North Carolina have committed to fielding girls’ flag football teams, and as of this season the sport is now officially a varsity championship sport through the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

At Laney, the players aren’t just excited to be part of that growth. They’re ready to compete. Senior safety Brooklynn King sees the sport as an opportunity to challenge long-standing expectations around who gets to play football.

“It’s a good way to express yourself because the boys do have football, and just now this sport is growing and showing girls that they can do things like the standard for what boys were, that we are now able to do that too,” King said. “I think it’s just a good way to change the social standard.”

For Devane, the goal is bigger than simply taking the field.

“I really would like to see our team expand and get to states this year,” she said.

Head Coach Robert Surface says the game is opening more doors for what comes next after high school.

“It’s been really fun, especially with college becoming a larger landscape now and D-1 teams starting up,” Surface said. “We have four girls playing in college, a couple of them on scholarship.”

Surface said Laney’s players are putting in the same level of preparation and commitment that athletes in other sports do.

“A lot of the girls come out and work very hard all week. They work in the offseason, they’re hitting the weight room just as much as the boys are, and they come out and leave everything on the field.”

That work will now be put to the test as Laney prepares for the new season. The Buccaneers will hold tryouts for their girls’ flag football team on August 31st.

Then comes the first game. Laney will open its season against North Brunswick, which is entering the Cape Fear girls’ flag football scene with a brand-new team.