GREAT FALLS — High school football season has returned to Montana, and this year it looks a little different in Great Falls.
Great Falls High and CMR are both fielding girls flag football teams for the first time.
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"A lot of people didn't realize there was a high school varsity sport," said CMR head coach Brian Crosby. "A lot of people thought it was either intramural or club or whatever, but it's a full-fledged varsity sport."
It's not just the players who are new to flag football — the coaches are learning the game right along with them. Crosby, whose son plays traditional football in the fall, wasn't planning on coaching this season at all.
"I wasn't going to coach anything in the fall because my son plays football," Crosby said. "When I talked to my wife I was like, 'Are you sure?' And she's like, 'Yeah, do it.' She's been the biggest supporter, pusher of it."
That support hasn't been limited to Crosby's wife. He said the Great Falls community has rallied behind the new program.
"People have been really awesome about it," Crosby said. "They've totally bought into it, and I think the community will really gravitate towards it."
For CMR sophomore Ronni Fairhurst, the arrival of flag football was a chance to finally play a sport she'd wanted to try for years.
"I've always wanted to try football, in elementary I'd play at recess," Fairhurst said. "It's been a really good experience."
Her favorite part of the game is pulling flags, though she admits she wouldn't mind a more physical version of the sport.
"When you're pulling flags, there's just a sense of accomplishment," Fairhurst said. "I wish it was tackling."
Across town at Great Falls High, head coach A.J. Griffith has spent the offseason cramming to make sure his team is well-versed in the rules of a sport that's new to everyone involved.
"Them knowing the rules is relying on me," Griffith said. "For me it was just a few nights of reading the playbook over and over again and then talking to some referees about like, 'Hey, what does this mean?'"
Beyond running plays, Griffith said the biggest lesson he wants his players to walk away with is learning not to fear failure.
"How you handle yourself when you're not doing well speaks a lot about you as a person and your character," Griffith said.
Two of Griffith's captains — senior quarterback Margaret Schulte and senior wide receiver Kaylee Little — said the inaugural season has brought the team closer together.
"We all have such a good bond, and it's been super fun so far," Schulte said. "It's a new thing, we all love it."
For Schulte, playing football has been a dream rooted in family tradition.
"I grew up in a football family, so my brother and I were always playing catch in the backyard," Schulte said. "So it's kind of been a dream."
Little, in her senior year, said being part of the program's first-ever team comes with a unique kind of pressure.
"Being the first team, not having an example, being the leader, you have to show how to be the best and have a positive attitude," Little said.
Despite competing on opposite sides of the field, players and coaches from both programs share the same hope: that girls flag football continues to grow across Montana.
"I think in 10 years, it might be one of the biggest sports in the state," Crosby said.
"I hope it's everywhere," Fairhurst added.
"I expect it to be pretty big," Griffith said.
And for Little, the hope goes beyond wins and losses.
"I hope that years from now, people look back at our names and remember who we were, and that we were the first team, and that we set a good example for them," she said.
