Liam Henderson has been coaching powder puff football games at Newburgh Free Academy during pep rallies for 15 years.

Now, the Goldback girls will have an opportunity to show what they’ve got on a larger stage, as they will be one of 12 Section 9 schools to offer varsity flag football starting this spring.

“We are excited to help popularize girls flag football as a varsity sport in our area,” Henderson said. “The team wants to help expand the program for young women in the future.”

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association created a girls’ flag football pilot program, which began last season with teams from Sections 1, 4, 5, 8 and 11 with donations from the New York Jets, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills, along with $100,000 from Nike.

The sport got more support from the NYSPHSAA in February when the Executive Committee recommended minimum standards for the sport, which includes minimum six practices to play, and a maximum of 16 games during the regular season, one game per day, and one scrimmage per day, starting this spring.

The standards are the same as girls’ lacrosse.
The committee also established rules and voted to conduct a state championship starting in 2024.

The game is played between two teams of seven players each. Five are required to avoid a forfeit. The field is 40 yards wide and 80 yards long. The end zones are 10 yards long each. Each game will be 50 minutes long, divided into two 25-minute halves of running time. However, the clock will stop during the last two minutes of each half and change of possession. Halftime will be five minutes and if there is overtime, there will be a three-minute intermission. There is a two minute warning at the end of each half.

Each team gets two timeouts per game.
Each play ends when the flag is taken from the runner in possession of the ball.

The Goldbacks will compete in the two upcoming tournaments to start the season to get a sense of where they measure up against local competition.

Key players include Megan Evans, Hayvin Fling, Saraji Good, Makayla Manso, Kallie McKoy, McKayla Rafferty, Linsay Dando.

While the Goldbacks’ goal is to win, Henderson is eager to teach the players the game’s nuances as they build their team.

“Making this an official team sport is something that our young women have been deserving of for a long time,” Henderson said. “This should be an extremely popular sport in Newburgh, and our young athletes deserve the platform to showcase their skills.”