After months of training and preparation, Plainfield East High School’s 2025 girls flag football team made history in their game against Andrew High School on August 26, being the school’s first ever team to participate in this up and coming sport. 

Flag football was created nearly a century ago, but has seen large growth in popularity in recent years. Now, it has finally made its way over to Plainfield East with the help of Head Coach Lauren McNichols. 

“It was another sports opportunity for girls, I love that girls get to play football,” said McNichols. 

The game started with the Bengals defending against the Thunderbolts’ offensive line, and while the Thunderbolts took the game, after months of hard work, the Bengals kept the pressure up until the end while furthering their bonds as a team. 

“It was kind of a little burden from doing nothing into doing the camp, and it was definitely stressful but now it’s a lot of fun,” said Jaylin Milano, senior quarterback.

The girls flag football team worked for all of July getting used to the sport and training for the season, running drills, practicing plays, and running scrimmages.

“I honestly think the first game we lost, but we had a great game,” said Haylen Nguyen, senior receiver, running back, and defense. “Since the scrimmage we made a lot of progress and won our next game.”

For the first game of the season there were some very memorable moments. One stand out was senior running back Kessiah Purnell, who scored a 65-yard touchdown, and followed it up in the third quarter with another touchdown from one end zone to the other. 

The game was down to the wire with both teams tied at 14 up until the final two minutes. 

“I see the rest of the season going very well and successfully, and every practice we play like we’re in an actual game.” said Milano. 

This has seen true so far as right after their first game with a score of 14-20 they took the win against Joliet Central high school 40-26.

“I only see wins, I dream of them.” said Nguyen, “Especially against a team like [Romeoville High School] they did really well last year.”

The girls on the team are not the only ones who share the sentiment that their goals are to continue winning and to place. This is also shared by McNichols with more hopes for the team in the future. 

“I would love for the girls who considered joining to come back for next year, and hopefully get enough space and have three teams,” said McNichols.