After a quick huddle, they line up on the ball. The opponent’s rushers are only about one yard away, waiting for the ball to be snapped. A quick clap releases the ball into the quarterback’s hands and the ball is gone. Flying through the air, the ball finds the hands of a receiver who continues her journey into the endzone. 

Flag football is returning to South Forysth High School. Last year, 2019, was the first year that South offered flag football to those interested. Though Forysth County hosted a whole team, it was not yet considered a sport in the state. This year that has changed. Flag football is now a GHSA sport. 

Returning athlete and sophomore, Meghan Emberton, shares her love for the game, “I love the coaches and my teammates. We work hard but leave time to play around and have fun.”

Flag football is a competitive game with two halves and a five-minute halftime to splice up the game. The game sounds straight forward, however, there are many rules and technicalities. That is why, in practice, it is important to work on mechanics and getting the little things right. The girls work every day after school from 4-6 to prepare for the games held throughout the week. 

Thursday, December 3rd, was a night to remember for the lady War Eagles. Three games took place that night, two of those were make up games for South while the other was a rematch between Lambert and Central. With a close region loss the night before to West Forsyth, the War Eagles walked onto their home turf with new energy; the energy to win. 

Senior Tori Perry commented on the energy before the first game against Denmark, “The energy before the game was iffy because of nervousness but afterward, we came through and believed in ourselves.”

These two games against Denmark and North would be the deciding factor for state playoffs. The Denmark game started at 5:00 with South on defense. A quick stop gave the ball to the Lady War Eagles with good field position. A long pass to the center, Delaney Pate, gave South their first touchdown of the night. South’s offense ran to the sideline with excitement. Soon after, the defense came out and performed. South did not give Denmark much time to process before the rushers were in front of Denmark’s quarterback. The first game ended quickly with a War Eagle win: South came through and beat Denmark 32-0. 

After the win against Denmark, South had one more game to go. It was time to lay it all on the field: “After we beat Denmark I was thinking it was time to beat North,” Meghan explains, “We have to claim our spots in playoffs. We’ve worked hard and deserved the spot.”

The second game followed, starting at 7:00 P.M. The stakes were high. Each team was hanging on the edge of their seats. Tori Perry caught a pass by Ashley Chu for the first touchdown of the night. The excitement in the air got fans to their feet and the sideline screaming. The sideline lit up after the catch. Coaches and players ran down the sideline with Chu and jumped into the air after the amazing touchdown. War Eagle stadium lit up.

“Catching passes is like when you catch a ticket to success. Once you have the ticket in your hands, you thrive and push yourself to make it,” Perry explains, “It may take a while or a few tries but once you have it, it’s all yours to take it home and show them that I just caught my opportunity to succeed and do it all again.”

Not long after, a bobbled pass by Delaney Pate was secured and run back for another Tori touchdown. South’s sideline cleared and a sea of blue ran to celebrate with their senior receiver. South ended up beating North Forsyth to secure third place. 

In the upcoming week, South will take on Mountain View on Wednesday at 5:30. The girls have been practicing every day after school, preparing for their time, and here it is. The game will take place at Sequoyah high school. 

The stakes are high and there is nothing to lose as the girls prepare for the game.

“I’m hype for the Mountain View game. We lost by one touchdown last time but we are a different team now. We are more developed, and I think we can beat them and advance in playoffs” Emberton adds.