Tonight, at 6 p.m., more than 100 girls will storm out of the locker rooms—wearing football jerseys and gold glitter in their hair—and run onto the football field. As the sun begins to set, these players wearing flag-belts instead of shoulder pads and ponytails instead of helmets will line up on the field, and the announcers will address the cheering Black Hole to welcome them to the 2023 Battle of the Classes. 

The game runs like any Friday Night Lights—there will be referees in black-and-white, striped uniforms, cheerleaders lining the sidelines, and players running the plays their coaches bark out to them. Two teams, one made up of freshmen and seniors, the other sophomores and juniors, will play each other, with only one emerging victorious.

The Battle of the Classes is led by football coach Mitchell Donnelly.

“The event was designed to give [female] students the opportunity to see what a Friday Night experience is like through the football perspective and play a game that can’t be replicated anywhere else,” Donnelly said. “It’s to bring different groups on campus together and generate excitement for the kids.”

Starting in the spring of 2018 and taking a pause in 2020 and 2021 for the pandemic, Donnelly proposed the idea of bringing the flag-football game to Westview, and reached out to administration and ASB to help make Donnelly’s vision come to fruition. 

“It’s now become a tradition,” Donnelly said. “It’s actually spread and other schools have started doing it again, and I think a lot of that is due to [the]  success [of] our event.”

For girls at school, the event has both an athletic and social appeal. Sydney Heyn (11) and Beatriz Ibatuan (11) both played last year and have returned for this year’s game. In fall, having experienced the exciting aspect of a highschool football game as a spectator, they were enthusiastic about participating from a player’s perspective.

“The opportunity came that I could be a part of a [football] team, and I thought it was a great time to meet new people, learn new things, and bond with new coaches,” Heyn said.

Senior football players from the regular season volunteered to coach the 50-player teams. Due to the small number of seniors on the football team this year, Donnelly also reached out to the program’s alumni and asked them to come back and help. 

“Part of the goal is getting the senior boys to see what it’s like to be a coach and how rewarding it can be, [and] to see the challenges [of coaching] and maybe create a little more appreciation for coaches,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly said. “Each team held six to 10 practices before the game. Girls ran drills and learned the expectations of different positions, and they scrimmaged with each other to prepare.  

“Typical practice is usually an hour and a half and there’s a combination of skill development and teaching a scheme,” Donnelly said. “You figure out what girls can do; in terms of athleticism, football is dynamic and there’s different positions with different skill sets.”

In football, “scheme” is the strategy that coaches teach and players employ in the game. For this year’s players, they’ve found the scheme stronger this year.

“It’s definitely more organized,” Heyn said. “We’re running more drills, and they’re getting more repetitions for everyone. This year, we’re learning more plays, which is important because it makes everyone feel more included and you get more experience.”

The game operates with a running clock and is non-tackle. The special teams are eliminated for safety concerns, and there are real officials to increase the feeling of the event’s “realness.”       

Heyn recalled the positive memories the team had from last year’s game. 

“I loved the energy, and when we won, how enthusiastic our coaches were,” Heyn said. “It was a really good end of the year and something to look forward to this year.”

For this year, Donnelly acknowledged the hard work everyone put in, from coaches, to players, to parents, and officials. 

“I know it’s not always easy, and it’s scary sometimes from a player’s perspective, and asking boys to coach when they’ve never coached before is challenging for everyone,” Donnelly said. “So, I’m thankful that people are embracing this opportunity to have a great sports competition.”

There’s been some concern with the spring dance show being on the same day, but Donnelly and WDVT have worked out a mutually beneficial agreement. If people attend the Four Elements dance show on Wednesday or Thursday, they can bring their ticket stub or proof of attendance to the flag-football game for a 20% discount on tickets the day of, hopefully increasing attendance at both events.

“Now you have two groups working toward a common goal to increase attendance and then these two entities have a positive relationship versus competing for resources,” Donnelly said.

For the game tonight, Olivia Kooyman (11) revealed how excited she is for the opportunity to play in a Friday Night Lights.

“It’s always a little nerve-wracking to be under the lights with the whole school watching, but overall, it’s an experience I can’t wait to do again this year,” Kooyman said. “We’ve been learning so many new skills and plays, and I can’t wait to put the practice to play on Friday night.”