White County High School fielded their first-ever flag football team, on April 5, 2024, when the Warriorettes played a double-header and hosted a third game.
A proposal by Franklin High School to sanction Girls’ Flag Football was presented in November’s TSSAA meeting to make the sport an official sanctioned sport for Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association member high schools. With 56 percent of the membership in agreement, the sport was officially adopted in January, and White County High School was quick to jump on board and organize a team for this inaugural season.
White County, led by quarterback Tegan Rittenberry, opened their season with a 14-13 win over Stone Memorial, at Dee Harris Field, in Sparta, and followed that up with a 24-6 victory over Rhea County.
Callie Anna Griggs scored White County’s first ever touchdown, and then followed it up with three more on the night. Autumn Birdwell and Kate Frasier also put points on the scoreboard with one touchdown a piece. In addition to her touchdown, Frasier was successful on an extra point attempt.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Warriorettes had several players making big plays throughout the night. Katelyn Blakeman led the way with three interceptions, followed by Griggs and Rylee Savage who each had two picks and Birdwell who added one more interception to bring the Warriorettes’ total to 8.
Savage and Frasier led the way with stops with each of them pulling 10 flags over the course of the night. Blakeman had six flags, while Birdwell and Zoey Clemons were each able to pull three.
“When Coach Slone and I decided to coach flag football, the main goal was to encourage the sport and for the girls to have fun,” Coach Mark Frasier said. “We made it clear that we would work with other sports, so if a kid played tennis or ran track, she would still have the opportunity to play flag football. I think our first game, considering the amount of time we’ve been able to practice, was a great success, and the girls definitely had a blast.”
White County’s flag football team will play again at 4:30 EDT, on April 12, in Rhea County.
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