AC Lady Mavs starts 2-0 in inaugural Knox County flag football league
The Lady Mavericks flag football team celebrate after jumping out to a 2-0 start to the 2024 TSSAA sanctions flag football season.
Anderson County High School is among the 15 teams competing in the league, which also features Austin-East, Knox Central, Halls, Karns, Hardin Valley Academy, West, South-Doyle, Carter, Gibbs, Fulton, Powell, Bearden, Farragut, and Knoxville’s Career Magnet Academy.
Games are played Monday nights at various sites across Knox County.
The Lady Mavericks opened their 2024 season with two wins at Hardin Valley Academy on Monday, Nov. 11, defeating Karns 32-6 and Hardin Valley 31-12 to start 2-0.
Although flag football is new to East Tennessee high schools, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has sanctioned the sport for several years in Middle and West Tennessee.
States such as Texas and Florida also host leagues, and the sport is slated to debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles for both men and women.
A new opportunity
The Lady Mavericks are led by Jonathan Cotton, a chemistry teacher and assistant coach for the Anderson County football team under head Coach Davey Gillum. Cotton, who also coaches his son’s youth football team, was eager to take on the role when the school decided to field a flag football team.
“I approached Coach [Gary] Terry after we went to a TNFCA recruiting fair,” Cotton said. “I kept bothering him, and he gave me the job. I told him I wanted to be the head coach of the ACHS flag football team.”
Cotton’s persistence paid off, and he’s thrilled with how the season has started.
“The girls are all really enjoying each other’s success, and after one set of games, we already have some girls who have received interest from colleges,” Cotton said. “We have five girls who have received interest from colleges.”
Several NCAA Division II schools have flag football programs, and Cotton anticipates Division I schools will follow as the sport gains popularity, especially after its Olympic debut in 2028.
“That will be big for the sport,” he said.
Strong start for Anderson County
The Lady Mavericks saw standout performances in their first two games.
“Anaya Whitkowski scored multiple touchdowns, and our quarterback, Keianna Gillum, threw at least eight touchdowns,” Cotton said. “She’s Coach Gillum’s niece. Bralee Hall, Sophie Crumley, Emily Martin, and Kaycee Baldwin all had big games for us.”
Cotton noted that many of his players are multi-sport athletes, with backgrounds in soccer, softball, track, and cross country.
Martin is a goalkeeper for the soccer team, Baldwin plays center field for the softball team, and Hall, a former basketball player, is also on the soccer roster.
“We have girls from almost all of our other sports,” Cotton said. “We don’t have basketball players because the seasons overlap, but we’ve got a great group.”
Anderson County played Halls and West on Monday at Halls, but results were not available at press time.
