On Feb. 14, the IHSA officially released a statement that girls flag football would move from a club sport to an official IHSA sport in the fall of 2024. On Aug. 27, the LT girls flag football team kicked off its inaugural season with a win over the visiting Fenwick Friars at Bennett Field by a score of 28-0. 

LT had been interested in the prospect of adding a flag football team for a while, LT Athletic Director John Grundke said.

“We had been looking at it for a couple of years, and the IHSA made it an official sport for the whole state,” Grundke said. “So we decided it was time to put together a team.” 

The team garnered a lot of interest from potential players during tryouts, Head Varsity coach Meghan Hutchens said. About 125 girls tried out for spots on the JV and varsity rosters, with varsity coached by Hutchens along with JV being coached by Missy Mitidiero. That interest was shown during the first game by the number of fans in attendance at Bennett Field as well. Students, fans, parents, and teachers alike showed up in large numbers to support the team in their first game. 

“There were a lot of fans, and we’ve got a lot of support,” Hutchens said. “We had a great turnout for tryouts as well. We knew there would be a lot of interest, but we didn’t know there would be that much interest. We have the interest, we have the talent, it’s going to be a really fun year.”

The team showed off that talent during their 28-0 victory on Aug. 27. Defensive back Nora Hare ‘25 snagged an interception in the first half to give the ball back to her offense. The disruptive Lions defense would go on to pitch a shutout, not allowing the Friars to score any points for the entirety of the game. Hare credited trust in her teammates on defense as the main reason for their success defensively in their first game. 

“We just had to get to know each other first and trust in each other,” Hare said. “Once I got to know my teammates, my defenders, and the same for the offense it all went from there. It was so cool to see the support from everyone who came out, and it was really cool to play on Bennett Field.” 

As the season continues, the team looks to build more skills and build on their knowledge of the game. The team had the background information on the game, but building the skills was the main focus for the first weeks of the season. Hutchens hopes that the background knowledge of the game translates to success on the field for the rest of the season. 

“They did a really good job of learning the rules themselves and preparing themselves,” Hutchens said “Once the nerves were calm, we had a nice flow through the game.”

The girls have three more regular season games before they begin the regional playoffs on Oct. 9. The team continued their early success in the second game of the season against Barrington at Bennett Field, winning 39-0 on Sept. 2.