Weekday Night Lights: Flag Football Grows at OPRF

The Huskies intramural flag football team is bringing a spirit of fun to an increasingly fierce varsity sport.

It's the final down of Oak Park-River Forest High School's recent game against gridiron powerhouse Joliet Catholic Academy. The Huskies have a one-point lead, 13-12. Joliet Catholic is on the offensive, just 20 yards from the end zone. The center hikes. The quarterback throws. This is for all the Tostitos. But this isn't high school football. It's (arguably) way more serious. This is high school flag football. “It's like playing backyard football,” said Coach Jim Geovanes, an OPRF physical education teacher who founded the team last year. The game comes as part of a 34-team flag football league, sponsored by the Chicago Bears, for Chicago-area Catholic and public high schools. Teams compete for seven weeks, during which only undefeated …

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