By Becky Maxedon

Sponsored story by Anderson Toyota

In 2023, the Arizona Interscholastic Association gave the green light to girls flag football and opened doors for new paths for the state’s high school athletes.

At the time, Arizona was the latest state to sanction flag football as a high school sport following several others. And in 2028, flag football will be an official Olympic sport.

This year, Lake Havasu High School joins many in Arizona fielding its own flag football team.

Charlie Stickney is the head coach for the LHHS flag football team.

RiverScene Magazine caught up with the team at practice Thursday evening.

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

“This is the second year that Arizona has made flag football an actual sport, so Lake Havasu is just one year behind with getting things going.

“We have 37 girls out this year with all varsity. No JV yet, but that’s in the works,” Stickney said.

The team is made up of a variety of mostly seniors and freshmen, with a sprinkling of sophomores and juniors.

“They are kind of my all-star team of a mixture of athletes between softball and basketball, track and field athletes. There are soccer athletes – some of the greatest girl athletes we have here in Havasu,” he said.

Stickney said the team is a “cool mixture of people.”

He owes part of the interest to the fact that powder puff football has been popular at the high school and is considered a lot of fun for girls and said some are trying the sport for the first time.

“A lot of them are transferring to flag football from winter and spring sports in order to have something to do in the fall.”

Coach Stickney and Coach Sepulveda work with the flag football players during practice Thursday evening. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Stickney said, “I even have one of my old tackle football players on the field with Vivian Velasquez. She’s changed over to flag football for her high school career and she’s tearing it up on the field just like she did back in middle school.”

Maddison Nutt is a senior who is a safety and wide receiver on the team. “This is my first year of playing. I’m so excited and I’m so glad that I got to play in my last year (of high school).

“It’s super fun. It’s a new experience and now I can do something in the fall because I play softball in the spring,” she said.

She added that flag football is more fast-paced, and she has had a lot of game learning so far this year.

Makenna McNutt throws the ball during practice Thursday evening. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Freshman Makala Ernst said she had wanted to participate in a sport for a long time.

“I’ve never done one and a friend of mine said she was going out, so I was like, ‘sure, I’ll do it too,’” she said.

“It’s close to tackle football, but we can’t tackle,” Ernst said.

She plays blocker on the offensive side of the ball, linebacker on defense and forward left on punt returns.

“This is fun to play. Definitely exciting. It’s not boring at all. You run a lot and if you make a touchdown, it’s pretty cool.”

Anna Anderson, a senior, said she plays “all over the place.”

Anna Anderson tosses the football during practice Thursday evening. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

“I just started as backup quarterback again, but mostly, I’m a middle linebacker and a running back,” Anderson said.

“I just like the involvement of it all. We all get to do a lot, and we do it all as a team. It’s not just one person controlling the whole thing,” she said.

Anderson, who usually plays golf, said she was “super excited to try something new.”

At Thursday’s practice, Stickney said the team was focusing on zone and defensive coverage.

“I’m also preparing for our games against Kingman and Canyon View coming up,” he said.

The Lady Knights take on Kingman at Kingman High School at 6 p.m., Saturday. They will face Canyon View High School in Phoenix at 6 p.m., Oct. 1

The next home game for the Lady Knights is Oct. 3, at 6 p.m.

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene Magazine

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Natalia Slater carries the ball across the field Thursday evening during practice. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Audrey French carries the ball across the field during practice Thursday night. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

Jillian Danielson/RiverScene