Promotion
Hamilton girls win NFL crown

Hamilton girls win NFL crown

A group of girls from Hamilton have captured an NFL title - defeating teams from across the continent to capture the the NFL Flag National Tournament of Champions (12-14 girls division crown).

The tournament was held January 31, prior to Pro Bowl. The girls were playing as the Detroit Lions, having qualified for the finals through a Detroit-area regional.

“We worked well as a team and stepped up when we needed to, which led us to a very great experience,” quarterback and Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School student Michaela Ionni told the Stoney Creek News.

Receiver Kristen Farkas agreed.

“We got an opportunity that most people do not get and we made the best of it,” the Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School student told the News. “We had fun and came out as champions, which is a bonus.”

The girls won their first game 20-0 , before losing their next two to finish 1-2 in round-robin action.

“That placed us in fifth out of eight teams, which is not what we hoped for,” coach Alex Hill told the News. “This left us with an extremely tough quarter-final game against the Jets, who previously beat us,” he added. “With a conservative game plan, we came out looking for some revenge and beat them 12-0.”

The Hill family has become something of a dynasty in flag football circles. In 2007, Hill was the quarterback of a 13-to-14 Steeltown Steelers mixed flag football team - coached by his older brother Matt - that won Canadian and world championships in Winnipeg and New Orleans, respectively.

"The other coaches were surprised that I was so young," Hill, a Grade 11 student at Cardinal Newman told the Hamilton Spectator. "A lot of them were 40-plus dads who ran football programs in their cities. They saw me, a 16-year-old kid, and thought, 'what the heck is going on?'

"There was a boys' division there and everyone was asking me if I was a player. I said 'no, I'm a coach.'"

In the semifinal, the girls faced No. 1 seed and last year’s champions, the Dallas Cowboys.

“The game was a defensive battle and we came out on top 6-0, after being huge underdogs,” Hill told the Stoney Creek News. “The key to our success was our defence; we weren’t letting teams march down the field on us and even forced four interceptions on the Jets and three on the Cowboys, who were the two most explosive offences we had seen.”

In the tournament final, the girls from Hamilton again found themselves in the position of underdogs.

“I knew if we played smart football, we could come out victorious,” Hill told the News. “We took the role as the underdog again and in the second half, Ionni connected with Farkas, which put us in scoring position. Two plays later, Ionni passed to Jenna Woodworth in the end zone for the only score of the game. Our defence held strong like they did all tournament and we came out on top.”

Ionni told the News the chemistry of the team played a huge role in the victory.

“We were very focused, when it came down to tight situations,” she said. “We were also very prepared.”

Hill told the News that the Lions couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

“The tournament was extremely well organized and the girls had a lot of fun, along with some great opportunities, like attending the Pro Bowl, which a lot of people will never get the chance to attend,” he said. “Being crowned the best girls team in North America for under 15 is awesome. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls.”