High school flag football has officially arrived in Wilmington.
With just over a week until teams take the field for their first sanctioned games, practices began Monday, Aug. 31, across the state.
The StarNews visited New Hanover and North Brunswick to get an early look at the players, coaches and storylines shaping the inaugural NCHSAA season.
All six Wilmington-area teams will play their first games Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Ashley High School. Here's our breakdown of the top players to watch on every area team.
Before the games begin, here are our biggest takeaways from the opening days of practice.
North Brunswick’s first season ever
While all four New Hanover County schools have played
several seasons of unsanctioned flag football, North Brunswick's program officially gets underway this fall.
The Scorpions have an experienced coach leading the way.
Former Ashley coach Dante Lombardi takes over the new program after coaching both tackle and flag football for the Screaming Eagles. In 2024, he helped lead Ashley to the state's first flag football championship.
"These girls have picked it up in a little bit of time," said Lombardi, who also serves as North Brunswick's defensive coordinator for tackle football. "Obviously, being three years behind the New Hanover schools, we've gotta learn how to play the game as well as teaching X's and O's. That's gonna be the hard part, but they're doing a great job."
The Scorpions also have a strong arm in junior quarterback Laya Wizman, who has been waiting for flag football to arrive at North Brunswick for years.
"My freshman year I really wanted it. I know a couple other teammates wanted it," Wizman said. "We got a petition, we talked to our AD, the head AD of our county, tried to get it, so now that we finally got it, it really means a lot to us."
Sophomore running back and middle linebacker Malia Graham echoed those thoughts.
"I've always wanted to play this sport, so it's been a good experience," Graham said. "We're all really excited and ready for the competition."
New Hanover’s experienced stars
New Hanover's program enters its third season this fall and its first under new coach Semaje Moore.
A 2022 New Hanover graduate, Moore played football for the Wildcats before continuing his career at Randolph-Macon College.
"It's been really fun so far," Moore said. "The girls are very bought in to what we have going on out here."
Moore inherits an experienced group led by senior wide receiver and defensive back Victoria Quintana, one of the few Wilmington-area players with a college offer after Mount Olive extended one this summer.
"I think people are underestimating us, honestly," Quintana said. "I think we have a pretty good group out here, and I'm excited to see what we can do."
Junior Camille Brown sees the sanctioning of flag football as an opportunity for girls who might not otherwise have had the chance to play the sport.
"I know a lot of girls that actually want to play football, and now they have an opportunity to play flag ... I think it's great," Brown said.
Senior wide receiver and cornerback Sa'Da Beatty adds another experienced returner for a Wildcats team looking to take a step forward this fall.
"We didn't have the best season last year, and with it being our last year, I really want to make the best of it," Beatty said.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What we learned from Wilmington flag football's first practices
