Lee County girls flag football players compete in first all-star game

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (WINK)—Some of the best girls flag football players in Lee County took the field for the inaugural Lee County All-Star Flag Football Game.

Bonita Springs High School hosted the first-of-its-kind event with help from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lightning delayed the start, but inside the school, the energy remained high as many seniors prepared to put on a flag football jersey for the last time.

"I fell in love with the game like a year ago, so this was very important because I'm not going to college for flag football, so it was like this is really my last game," said Sophia Flinn, a senior at Mariner High School.

The sport has been growing rapidly in Lee County. Thomas McGuire, head coach of Bonita Springs High School flag football, reflected on how far the programs have come in just three years.

"We remember the first scrimmage at Bonita Springs three years ago, when nobody knew what they were doing, and to think about how far we've come as a county in terms of our programs and the post seasons runs we're making in the rankings we have, and it's pretty amazing how far we've come in three years," McGuire said.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played a key role in making the event feel significant. McGuire said the organization reached out asking how they could help grow flag football in Lee County, which sparked the idea for an all-star game similar to what the boys have.

"They said, 'What can we do to help grow flag football in Lee County?' And I thought about it one day, I thought, 'You know, the boys have an all-star game, so the girls need an all-star game,'" McGuire said.

The event featured a tailgate with food trucks and pop-ups, an LCSO flyover and rivals becoming teammates. Brianna Shanblatt, a senior at Bonita Springs High School, said the experience allowed players to step outside their comfort zones and appreciate the talent across the county.

"To go out in your comfort zone and just see like the amount of talent that's everywhere around the county, because you're always so used to your own confined people, so it's so cool to see, like, the talent that we literally have everywhere," Shanblatt said.

A sport that once struggled for recognition now has an all-star stage.

"Oh my.. it's just such a blessing, like that's just the biggest way I can even describe it," Shanblatt said.

McGuire said as long as he's at Bonita Springs High School, the all-star game will continue.