Lillian Mullen flies through the air for a few extra yards as the junior finished with 154 yards on the opening game for Canisteo-Greenwood’s quest of a Section V title. Steve Harrison photo.
Photos by STEVE HARRISON, story by JOHN ANDERSON
You might see girls at Canisteo-Greenwood playing softball and track this spring. The school is also allowing them to play in the newest sanctioned Section V sport, flag football for girls.
Last year, Canisteo-Greenwood, on May 2, made history by playing in the first-ever game. This year, coach Jamie Freeland is back and so is the success on the field.
Canisteo-Greenwood downed the visitors from Rochester in an exciting contest, 38-17.
“We were really proud of the way the ladies came out and played tonight. The weather was certainly not favorable, but they did a great job of putting it out of their minds and concentrating on making plays,” said Freeland. “We had hoped to be able to throw the ball more effectively, but the wind and cold put a damper on that. We were able to respond and effectively run the ball, with some great blocking from our receivers. We were down a couple of players tonight, and everyone stepped up when we need them.”
Kylie Williamson led Canisteo-Greenwood scoring five of the six team touchdowns. Williamson had nine carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Williamson intercepted two passes and returned them 18 and 34 yards for touchdowns. She also made 14 tackles.
Coach James Freeland has shown how much he cares about the sport of football and teaching it to all children of all ages. Freeland was successful as a varsity football coach, a NCAA Division III coach and he is now teaching and winning with the girls at Canisteo-Greenwood.
Lillian Mullan was also a force carrying the ball with 13 carries for 154 yards. Mullen also intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
Sarah Coddington had five carries for 38 yards as the team had 33 carries for 311 yards and four touchdowns.
How good was the offense? Canisteo-Greenwood ran a reverse to perfection, so good that it fooled the referees. As three Rochester players ripped the flag from a Canisteo-Greenwood player who didn’t have the ball, the whistles stopped the play as another player was running down the field with no one within 30 yards of her!
Kendall Button and Lauren Marke also had strong defensive games with seven and five flag pulls for tackles.
“RACS is a tough, physical team, and they made some excellent plays on both offense and defense. Their flag pulling was impressive as well,” said Freeland. “We were happy with the way we were able to respond to their plays with some big plays of our own. Being our first game, we made improvements from the beginning of the game to the end, and we will look to continue that improvement as we head to Young Women’s College Prep on Thursday.”
The field is 80 yards long and the end zone is 10 yards. The field is also 40 yards wide. To prevent head injuries, once a ball comes loose, the play is dead and the team that fumbles retains the ball. If a ball carrier starts to stumble, the play is also whistled dead.
Steve Harrison with some incredible photos:
