Montclair High School kicks off flag football

Montclair High School junior Bridget Martens was playing two-hand touch with her friend on the boys football team last fall and began to wonder why there was not a football team for girls.

At that moment Martens became empowered to start a flag football team.

“I remembered that I'd seen some social media stuff about other flag football teams starting around us in New Jersey,” Martens recalled. “I did some research and I realized that our school could be in a league. Then I reached out to the athletic director.”

Even though girls have participated on Montclair’s boys football team before, Martens stressed that flag football was a new type of opportunity. 

“It's about equal opportunity and that we also get our own team,” Martens said. “I don't think we necessarily need to be content just having a few of us on their team and then not having a team of our own. I think we deserve to have a team if they do.”

Interim Athletic Director Ron Anello and Principal Jeffrey Freeman supported Martens’ initiative from the very beginning. 

“They were immediately on board,” Martens said, adding that Anello “did a lot of the logistical stuff to make this happen. It happened really fast.”

Derek Dorch, Montclair’s head flag football coach, heralded Martens’ efforts to start the program.

“She was the one that really spearheaded everything,” Dorch said. “She was running a lot of student engagement meetings after school and at lunchtime. She did her research and she built up a decent following. Bridget was really the one that put the Montclair flag football team together.”

Flag football is just like tackle football except the play is not stopped by tackling the player with possession of the football. Instead, action is stopped by pulling a flag off of a player’s jersey. It is a safer alternative to football.

“Not everyone knows flag football, but it really is gaining more popularity as time goes on,” Dorch said. “I would describe it as regular football without pads and without tacking. Essentially, it’s the sport you know. We have running backs, we have a quarterback, we have linemen, we have your receivers.”

With the partnership of Montclair High, Martens’ vision became a reality this spring. Montclair High School started its first ever season of flag football on April 13. 

Eighteen girls regularly participate in practices. Dorch is impressed by the level of commitment he has gotten from his team. 

“We only have one or two girls on our team who have flag football experience before this.” Dorch said. “Everybody else is brand new to the sport, but they've picked up on it so quickly. They’ve improved because they put in effort. They come consistently. The practices are really good. There’s been a really good turnout every day. It's been awesome to see.”

Montclair has a five-game schedule for its inaugural season. Although the team has lost its first three games, Dorch says he sees improvement every week. 

Martens says the team’s continuous improvement is partly due to the members past experiences playing sports.

“It’s been very helpful just to have that athletic mindset and that everyone comes ready to work,” Martens said. “I think everyone here has played a sport before. We have volleyball, tennis, and gymnastics. It's many different sports.”

Montclair is joining a league in which their opponents already have years of flag football experience. Many of the other teams, like Irvington, have already played multiple seasons together. After going scoreless in the first half against Irvington, Montclair scored 18 points, losing 36-18.

“Unfortunately, we lost all three of our first games, but each week, we improve dramatically,” Dorch said. “Our confidence is getting better. Our plays are starting to get a little bit more advanced. We just lost to Irvington last Thursday. We scored 18 points against them and that’s the most points that anybody has put up against them in the last two years. We're definitely heading in the right direction, but each week we can try to do better.” 

Still, Montclair hopes to finish its first campaign on a winning streak. Montclair defeated East Orange, 14-0, on May 8 for the program’s first victory and ends the season at home against West Orange on May 18.  

“We have to play with the aggression and passion that we've been showing the last couple of weeks,” Dorch said. “I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They come to fight every single day. They're so competitive and they really bonded a lot together this year.”

Dorch believes the flag football team will reach new heights next season when they have more experience working as a team together.

“I'm extremely confident for the future,” said Dorch, who started with two seniors on the team, but only had one, Georgia Pendas, as of last week. 

Pendas has been “a really really good teammate to have, but most of our team are sophomores, juniors, and freshmen,” he said. “A good portion of this team that's going to come back. Now, they understand what the game is, so I'm extremely confident and optimistic for what the future holds for the flag football team.”

Dorch also works as an attendance officer at Buzz Aldrin Middle School in Montclair. News of a new flag football team for girls is already attracting attention there.

“Last week, at Buzz Aldrin, a few other young ladies came to me and asked, ‘Are you the flag football coach? I can't wait till we get to high school. I want to try it out.’ So I know, it's gaining popularity, for sure.” Dorch said.

Dorch hopes flag football’s presence continues to grow in Montclair. He is proud of the 2023 team for being pioneers.

And Martens is gratified by the steps she took to make flag football possible at the high school.

“I'm obviously disappointed that it wasn't an opportunity before, but I'm very happy that we were able to create one,” Martens said. “It’s really awesome. Everyone on the team has made this experience so much easier.”