If so, you are in luck. You don’t have to wait until the fall to watch it.
Navarre’s girls flag football team makes its regular-season debut tonight, taking on rival Gulf Breeze at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.
It’s the first of 11 games for the Raiders, who have been waiting quite some time for this opportunity.
Navarre is one of several new teams in the area. The Raiders can’t compete for a district title or postseason berth in their inaugural year, but what they can do is build a foundation for future teams here that will go on to battle for those accolades.
When the news came out that Navarre was going to have flag football, the excitement exploded, especially on social media.
Former athletes wish the program had started sooner, but I guess now is as good of a time as any to get the first-year team off the ground and it certainly beats never.
Two weeks of practice and two preseason games have led to this moment and Navarre wants to do everything it can to cash in on it.
The players have embraced each opportunity to better themselves ahead of the opener.
They work hard. They play hard. And they are having fun.
Yes, there is room for improvement, but even a team that has been around forever can say that.
I’m willing to bet this team does get better as the season rolls on. I don’t expect anything less.
I also expect the quality of play to be pretty good, even if this is a first-year program.
The Raiders have great female athletes in the school. Athletes who have excelled in other sports.
That should translate onto the football field.
Will the Raiders win every game?
Probably not.
But are they capable of winning a lot of games?
Without a doubt.
Of all the teams to open a season with, Gulf Breeze is the most fitting. Nothing beats a rivalry and there is no question we can have one in flag football.
Perhaps there will even come a day when it’s considered the Beach Bowl as well and a trophy is on the line, ramping the stakes up another level.
Tonight, bragging rights are on the line.
I just hope the FHSAA doesn’t come along and mess with the classifications and send Navarre into a district with Tallahassee schools or even further away.
But back to the matter at hand. And that’s the start of a new regular season of a new sport.
The Raiders are ready to roll. Ready to make a good first impression.
For the players on this team, the chance to be on the ground floor of this program is exciting.
They will be able to look back on it fondly one day and feel good about the fact that they were a part of school history.
The wins and losses won’t matter as much as the memories they make.
So, get ready for some football. Sit back and enjoy it.
The curtain rises tonight.
Where does the program go from here? Only time will tell.
It’s exciting to think about the potential.
