Wilson’s flag football team lost to School Without Walls by two points in last year’s regular-season finale, preventing their advancement to the DCIAA playoffs and ending their season sooner than they had hoped. But the team believes this season will be their best one yet. Both junior Alicia Chappel and senior captain Phylicia McKissick are confident that this is a championship season. “We’re gonna take it; we’re gonna win the championship and everything,” said Chappell, who is often referred to as “GOAT” by teammates and fans alike.
The season kicked off on February 11, with the first practice of the year leading into a five per week schedule. Both Chappell and McKissick agree that consistent and intense practices will be the key to winning that DCIAA trophy in mid-March. “We want to work our butts off,” Chappell said. Preparing for vital games against their rivals, including Eastern High School and Roosevelt High School, the Wilson team runs drills on every aspect of the game, including the intricacies of flag football with flag pulling drills.

The team usually has 15 players, but coach Seneca Surles would like to expand this number to around 30 players so more people can experience the game.

Flag football is a fairly new sport at Wilson and throughout DCPS, but it is very similar to conventional football. The main differences between the two sports are that flag football uses flags instead of tackling as a defensive strategy and that each team has seven players on the field instead of 11. But don’t think this makes the game less physical, or less aggressive. “I do wish it was tackle because two-hand touch can lead to pushing. We are supposed to go by the rules but we don’t,” McKissick said.

Team chemistry is a key factor of Wilson’s flag football team. “Our team last year was [a lot of] new people but we automatically connected at the first practice,” Chappell said. They strive to push each other and at the end of the day, have fun. “That’s the whole purpose,” McKissick said. “To have fun.”