GRAND ISLAND — Morgan Khadra knew her future was set, continuing her soccer career at Queens next year. But with months left, Khadra yearned to get involved and wear her school colors one last time.
Wanting to get involved was a common sentiment felt among female athletes at Grand Island, who, like Khadra, played a fall or winter sport but didn’t in the spring. But then, in March, the Vikings announced they would have tryouts for their new flag football team, and the lightbulb went on for Khadra and the almost 50 total athletes who tried out.
Two months later, the Vikings don’t seem like Section VI rookies, heading into the postseason. With an 8-1-1 record, Grand Island is the No. 2 seed in the Division 2A bracket and hosts No. 7 Hamburg at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinal.
“As soon as we heard about tryouts, we were all very excited,” Khadra said. “We went out and bought all of our gear. I talked to a lot of the girls and they were just so excited to try out and a lot of girls that played other sports wanted to play but, unfortunately, they couldn’t. I think everybody was just really excited about this new sport being brought to the school.”
The energy around the Vikings has only increased as the season progressed. Since its first-ever win in its inaugural game, a 33-0 finish over Health Sciences April 12, Grand Island has won by double-digits eight times, including five shutouts.
What’s specifically ramped up for Grand Island in its inaugural campaign is its offensive attack. While senior quarterback Claire LeFevre has thrown for 415 yards and seven touchdowns, the Vikings have primarily found success on the ground.
Heading into the postseason, the Vikings have dashed for 906 of their 1,321 yards and 22 of their 39 touchdowns on the ground. Six players have scored at least one rushing touchdown, with Khadra’s team-high nine scores placing her in a three-way tie for 10th in the section.
The offense has worked through the mind of its offensive coordinator Jim Randles. Randles, along with head coach Henry Carney, previously coached together on the Vikings’ modified football staff for 19 years, and, with the new team has expanded the playbook through having film sessions with the players on high school flag football teams in Georgia.
What’s allowed Randles to dive deeper in the playbook, to Carney, is how quickly the players built up their on-field knowledge through each game and practice. It’s to the point where the Vikings are anticipating the play and aren’t afraid to call an audible.
“I think it’s absolutely terrific,” Carney said. “They have football minds now, where maybe they didn’t at the beginning of the season. But, now these girls are full blown. They’re like, ‘If we can run this or we can run that, we can get yards,’ and it’s terrific. I mean, the growth has been terrific.”
Carney and Randles have had discussions on how and when the team will hold workouts heading into Year Two in their first full offseason. But, for right now, the Vikings are looking ahead to the postseason.
Grand Island looks to become the first team from the greater Niagara region to win a sectional championship since North Tonawanda did so during the section’s pilot program two years ago. But with more teams competing — going from 12 to 29 — the Vikings potentially have up to three more rounds, including the Division 2 crossover May 20 at Highmark Stadium, before advancing to the regionals.
What started as simply trying out a new sport for fun now has the players, like Khadra and her six fellow seniors, looking to set the standards for the program. This year, the state expanded its postseason format to include a final four June 1-2 at Cortland High School, similar to football, soccer and basketball, among others.
Khadra knows there is still skepticism about flag football being an actual varsity sport. But, as she leaves, she hopes the results, including in the postseason, will help win classmates over.
“I think coming in with this first season and having such a good record will make them realize that, ‘Oh, I could play flag football over the sport that I played for three years,’” Khadra said. “‘And that would be something that I’d be willing to do because they’re not just losing every game. ‘They really have a chance of going to playoffs and states and winning things.’”