Flag Football Rolls on in Popularity in Marblehead

There are 140 Marblehead players in the 7-8 year-old division alone.

On a thick carpet of grass at the intersection of Birch and Lafayette coaches Greg Mahan and Steve Tolan toss passes to the 49ers, a team of scrappy 7- and 8-year-olds. The 10 players, six from Marblehead and four from Swampscott, run to open spaces waving their arms and calling for the coaches to throw them the soft rubber blue football. In the 7-8 year old division in the North Shore Flag Football League there are 140 players from Marblehead alone. The league also includes divisions for 5-6 year olds, 9-11 year olds and 12-14 year olds. Each season the numbers grow, the coaches say. It is skyrocketing in popularity. On the field the kids get aggressive, but not too chippy. Unlike tackle football, the object in the flag variety is to stop…

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VIDEO: Marblehead Celebrating Powderpuff Victory

The Marblehead girls formed a circle and chanted their team cheer after last Friday's 44-32 win over Big Blue win at Piper Field.

Marblehead outran Swampscott in the 2012 Flag Football Bowl at Piper Field Friday, 44-32. Here is some video from the victory celebration on the field.

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Red Tops Blue in Flag Football Footrace

Marblehead jumped to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter on three long runs and held off a persistent Big Blue attack.

Marblehead High School senior girls outran Swampscott players in the 2012 Flag Football Bowl at Piper Field Friday night, 44-32. Both teams peeled off great sweeping touchdown runs from the outset. The runs served to only further electrify the fans and sidelines. The red team’s Tyler Phillips sprinted into the end zone four times. The blue and white team’s Katherine Pitman and Erin Cassidy slung into the open field and raced for two touchdowns apiece. Some of these runs were for more than 50 yards. The sidelines and stands on both sides were hopping and shaking from beginning to end. Players on both sides turned to face their fans and threw their hands over head imploring them to turn up the energy even higher. As if that was possible. But…

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(Not) The First Flag Football Game

The Marblehead/Swampscott girls' tradition started long before 1970. Add to our collection by posting a picture or a comment or sending either to terry.date@patch.com

Roll back to when cars with big engines roared over streets and high school varsity sports were commonly known as schoolboy athletics and you'll be back to a time when Marblehead and Swampscott girls played flag football. That would be 1970. And, we have learned from a reader, that the games go further back in time. Much further back. In the original story on this annual game we said they played their first game in 1970 but a reader sent us a photo of a powderpuff game from 1958. That was certainly a time when far fewer girls and women competed on athletic courts and fields. Since then female athletics have emerged, offering girls and young women a host of sports in which to sharpen their athletic skills, learn to win and lose and be part …

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Pre-Thanksgiving Powderpuff Ritual Kicks Off Friday Night

Senior girls from Marblehead and Swampscott will tangle in their annual flag football clash at Piper Field. Admission is $5. Proceeds benefit the home team's charity of choice. This year it is juvenile diabetes research.

Marblehead High School math teacher Larry McWilliams said the the spirit exhibited at last year's flag football game between Marblehead and Swampscott's senior girls exceeded that shown at any other game he had seen on a high school athletic field. "The spirit of this powder puff game is equal to three or four boys' games," he said. The action promises to be equally intense when the lady Magicians hit the gridiron against their Big Blue counterparts under the lights at Piper Field Friday at 7 p.m.  The Magicians will be out to redeem last year's loss at Blocksidge in Swampscott. It was a very physical game, the Big Blue girls winning 28-14. This year, the respective squads have been working on their plays and schemes, and bonding as a …

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High School Sports

PHOTOS: Powderpuff Battle in Swampscott

Marblehead High School's seniors came up short in an emotional game against the Big Blue Saturday.

Marblehead coach Jackie Bouchard told her team of seniors that they played hard and with class after their 28-14 loss to rival Swampscott in the annual powderpuff football game. Marblehead brought a large contingent of fans and lots of energy. "Maximum energy," said spirit team member Hannah Landergan. The girls were playing on behalf of Allie Castner, a classmate who was tragically killed two years ago when she was struck by a vehicle. "They were excited to play for Allie Castner and did well," Bouchard said. Kathryn DiGiammarino had some impressive runs including one for a touchdown and another that was called back because she stepped on the sideline. Lindsey Cohen caught a nice touchdown pass with 1:16 to go in the game and  followed it…

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