LaFayette High School building on fundamentals
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — As the clock struck 7 a.m. and a misty rain covered the surrounding fields, seven girls gathered at LaFayette High School.
While most of their peers were sleeping in, they instead gathered to perform body weight exercises, run sprints and practice drills to prepare for the Lady Bulldogs’ inaugural flag football season.
Although there have been growing pains at times, head coach Demarco McNeil said he’s been pleased with the effort his core group has given him so far.
“With anything, you’ve got ups and downs, good days and bad days, but one thing these girls, especially the core group that comes every day, they give everything they’ve got,” McNeil said. “I just want them to be the best version of themselves, and for the most part, we're doing that. We’re a little behind with the skill sets, but they're eager to learn and get better, so that's all we need from them.”
The sport is the newest offering for LHS’s female athletes, and its emergence in LaFayette is part of the sport’s emerging popularity across East Alabama and the nation.
According to the most recently available National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) data, 68,847 girls nationwide played flag football during the 2024-25 school year.
That number represented a 60% increase from the previous school year, and a 388% increase from when the NFHS began tracking participation during the 2021-22 school year.
By the time the season starts, McNeil said he expects to have upwards of 14 girls on the final roster.
For some players like Kazyen Williams, the opportunity to play at the high school level offers a more structured and convenient experience to play the sport they love.
“Last year, I was supposed to play rec, but I never played,” Williams said. “This year I wanted to [play] in ninth grade for the school.”
For others like Skyy Boston, the inaugural season offers the chance to simply try something different.
“It’s a new sport and new opportunity, just more things to do and explore,” Boston said. “It's been good because we’ve all been involved and work for each other.”
With the season rapidly approaching, the Lady Bulldogs have begun their preparations earnestly.
During the early morning hours during numerous days each week, players have worked on explosive movements in the weight room under McNeil’s supervision and run sprints in the parking lot across from the basketball gymnasium.
After the physical conditioning ends, they work on catching, throwing and snatching flags off of their opponents.
Natalee Patillo, who took up the sport to prove several classmates who said she couldn’t play wrong, said the initial challenges of preparing for the upcoming season have quickly faded.
“It took some time to get over the first week, but now I feel better about myself,” Patillo said. “I feel more encouraged and like everybody should be able to get done what they need to get done.”
As the countdown to the first game begins, McNeil said he looks forward to continuing to prepare his team to take the field and make the city of LaFayette proud.
“It’s going to be an interesting summer,” McNeil said. “It’s a slow process, but it’s still a process. Like I said, the girls are doing everything we’ve asked them to do so far, and so they've been good.”
The Lady Bulldogs will kick off their inaugural season on Aug. 20 against Lanett High School at the baseball field next to Eastside Elementary School.
