City of Westerville, OH

07/18/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/18/2025 10:53

Westerville Central High School Carries the Flag for Growth in Girls Sports

On Thursday, July 17, the Ohio High School Athletics Association officially sanctioned the sport of girls flag football as a state-level championship event beginning in the spring of 2026. The announcement was made at the 2025 NFL Flag Football Championships currently being held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

This past spring, student-athletes from Westerville Central High School (WCHS) helped make school and city history, competing in its first flag football season. In fact, the Warhawks were just one of three teams in central Ohio in 2025, joining the Columbus School for Girls and Whitehall-Yearling High School.

A total of 16 girls took the field for first-year math teacher and Head Coach Peyton McBride with aspirations of winning enough games to reach a championship tournament sponsored by the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Stadium May 12.

Although the Warhawks fell just short of making the trip north to compete for a regional title, the rookie squad walked away from the season with an enormous sense of accomplishment, achieving something no other program has done before in Westerville.

"It was a first-year experience for everyone. It was the first time anyone here in Westerville had done this," said McBride, who played basketball at Ohio University from 2019-2024. "All the girls had some football experience to an extent, playing in the backyard with their family or friends. No flag experience. So everyone was a first-timer."

McBride, who also serves as the school's track and field head coach and assists with volleyball and basketball at Westerville South, said the inaugural season was kicked off with a call from the Browns organization in February.

"This all happened in the span of about a month," said McBride. "The Browns reached out to (Westerville Central Football) Head Coach Josh Franke about the program and he was like 'We'd love to do it.' He went around the school asking teachers to coach. I accepted and it has turned out to be one of the best things I've done so far. It was a great experience with the girls."

In a relatively short first season spanning about six weeks, McBride led the Warhawks to a 3-6 record and the team was tied with a more experienced Massillon squad in the tournament to gain a bid to play in Cleveland before losing late in the game.

Overall, the performance on the field was not measured in wins and losses, but gaining valuable experiences, expanding their knowledge of the game and advancing the platform of girls and women's sports.

"Honestly, it wasn't so much about the actions of football--like throwing and catching," said Capri Burky, a freshman who played on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. "It was more learning how to do it all together as a team, running down the field and knowing the plays. It helped me gain a better understanding of the game of football overall."

McBride valued pulling all the different backgrounds of each player together and how they formed up to shape the team.

"Learning from the different types of players we have," said McBride. "You have soccer players, cheerleaders, track and field athletes all coming together and learning to become a cohesive unit. It was a very fun and rewarding experience."

The diverse makeup of the WCHS unit included player/coach Aubrey Hunt, who has Arthrogryposis, a medical condition that involves joint stiffness and contraction. Hunt, who travels in a motorized power wheelchair, was able to participate in several games this season.

"Aubrey has a lot of football knowledge. She has a great vision of the game and really helped our girls," said McBride, who was a Cleveland Browns Flag Football coach of the week honoree in May. "At first, we were figuring stuff out as a team and then we got her set up and she went into a couple games. She went in on offense and played a little defense too. That is another great part of the sport - giving people opportunities."

For Hunt, she envisions the pilot season of flag football at WCHS as a potential stepping stone into expanded roles within the game in the future and perhaps help out with the boys team in the fall.

"Being able to actually play was the highlight of my season. I went from not being able to go in and then being able to play in the second game," said Hunt. "The boys are pretty cocky, so (as a student coach/manager) I might be able to level them out a little bit."

The 2028 Olympic Games, set to be held in Los Angeles, will feature both men's and women's flag football as a new official sport as well. McBride only sees positive growth on the horizon.

"In the northeast part of the state, they are really passionate about the sport in Cleveland and the Akron/Canton area," said McBride. "Hopefully we get more teams involved. We are hoping the two other Westerville schools pick up on it, so that way we have some crosstown rivalry going.

"We want to give as many girls this opportunity as we can, because colleges are recruiting for this sport. We want to give the girls the opportunity to go to the next level, if they so choose."

The Browns and the OHSAA first connected about girls flag football in 2024 and the Cincinnati Bengals have helped grow the sport in the southern regions of the state.

"Flag football is growing rapidly and we look forward to working closer with teams, coaches and schools to help that growth," said Doug Ute, OHSAA executive director via press release. "The Browns, Bengals and NFL have already put in so much work to promote the game and bring us to this moment to welcome girls flag football to the OHSAA."

For more about the WCHS flag football team and additional Warhawk sports, visit www.WCHS.Westerville.k12.oh.us

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