BABSON PARK, Fla. – On Saturday, February 13, 2021, Webber International University had the privilege of hosting the first ever collegiate women’s flag football event as the Warriors hosted three other NAIA teams for the Crooked Lake Kickoff on the Warrior Grass Field. The historic day started with a 52-0 shutout win for the Warriors over Midland University, and then it ended with a 6-6 tie for the Warriors against St. Thomas University after the final game of the day was suspended due to darkness.

In the first game against Midland, Webber’s freshman quarterback Sierra Harris accounted for six total touchdowns (4 passing, 1 receiving, 1 rushing), completing 21 of her 27 passes for 188 yards while also running for 55 yards.

The first ever collegiate touchdown in women’s varsity flag football came via a 10-yard receiving touchdown from Harris to RayGene Garner late in the first quarter

At halftime, the Warriors led 20-0 before outscoring Midland 32-0 in the second half.

The last touchdown of the game was an 11-yard touchdown pass from Garner to Harris.

Defensively, the Warriors were led by Garner with 10 flag pulls, one tackle for loss, and an interception that she pitched off for a pick six.

In the final game of the day against St. Thomas, the two teams put together a defensive battle that lead to a 0-0 score at halftime.

Then in the third quarter, Kayla Burrows rushed in from 26 yards out for the first touchdown of the game, but with only 2:45 left in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats connected on a go-route to tie the game and break Webber’s stretch of shutout quarters to start the season.

Garner once again finished with 10 flag pulls while Harris added a great pass break up in the first half.

The player of the game offensively for Webber was Burrows, who finished with three catches for 46 yards receiving while also adding 33 rushing yards.

Webber’s Head Flag Football Coach Jeffery Melesky said, “It was a great day for women’s flag football, and it was an honor to be a part of the first ever sanctioned women’s collegiate flag football game. I am very happy for our players and fans that we were able to bring more light and awareness to this great sport. Sierra Harris and RayGene Garner led the way for the Warriors today, showing great poise and leadership both on and off the field. I know what this sport means to the two of them, and for them to connect on the first touchdown ever in the sport makes me proud. I am also very thankful for the other three teams that joined us for the first annual Crooked Lake Kickoff, and hopefully this becomes something we will do on a yearly basis. We are looking forward to the competition the rest of the season brings us, and we are proud to be a part of history.”

In the other two games on the day, Warner University defeated Midland 42-8, and then St. Thomas defeated Warner 13-6 in a defensive battle.

The overtime period between Webber and St. Thomas will be made up on Saturday, February 27, when the Warriors next play the Bobcats in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Next weekend, Webber will host two other teams for three games on Saturday, February 20. The Warriors will play the University of Florida club team at 1 p.m., and then after Florida plays Warner, the Warriors and the Royals will battle for the first time this season at 4 p.m. The game between Webber and Warner will also be the inaugural Sun Conference game for the Warriors.

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Melesky will come to Webber with a strong history of success as a high school flag football and cheerleading coach to go along with his recent success coaching women’s club flag football at the University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.) from 2017-2020. At UF, the Gators’ women’s club flag football team won its national championship in 2018, 2019 and again in 2020.

Melesky was also an assistant girls’ flag football coach at Lennard High School (Ruskin, Fla.) this past season in 2020.

At Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida, Melesky was the Head Cheerleading Coach from 2010-2019, was an assistant flag football coach from 2014-2019, and most recently was an assistant girls’ soccer coach in 2020. His flag football teams at Robinson were state champions in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 while his cheerleading team won its state championship in 2012. In 2011, Melesky was named the Hillsborough County Coach of the Year for cheerleading.

Melesky has NCAA Division-II coaching experience as the Head Cheerleading Coach at the University of Tampa (Tampa, Fla.) from 2004-2008. During this time, Melesky also worked as the assistant to the sports information director, the assistant to the director of athletic marketing, and was the public address announcer for soccer, volleyball and baseball.

Before his time in Florida, Melesky was an assistant cheer coach at NCAA Division-I Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.) from 2002-2004.

From 1998-2012, Melesky worked for All-American Cheer and Dance assisting with the production and choreography of the NFL Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Last but not least, Melesky held various coaching positions at Prince George High School (Prince George, Va.) from 1995-1998, including cheer coach, boys’ and girls’ basketball coach, and boys’ soccer coach. From 2014-2020, Melesky has returned to Prince George High School each year as a Cheer Camp director and choreographer.

Melesky earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications studies from Virginia Tech in 2002.

Coach Melesky and the Webber women’s flag football team will start recruiting immediately and will begin NAIA competition in the spring of 2021 using the new Warrior turf field on campus to practice and play home games.

In addition to being the newest sport within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the NAIA is partnering with the National Football League (NFL) and Reigning Champs Experiences (RCX) to bring the newest collegiate sport to a campus near you.

With support from NFL FLAG and RCX, the NAIA will work to develop league infrastructure and operations for the first women’s flag football competition governed by a collegiate athletics association.

The NAIA will begin working with NFL FLAG and RCX immediately to outline competition guidelines and next steps for schools and conferences interested in instituting women’s flag. The first competitive season will be held in the spring of 2021.

The NAIA will host an emerging sport or invitational championship in the spring of 2022. An emerging sport in the NAIA is defined as at least 15 participating institutions, while invitational can be defined as at least 25. A sport must have a minimum of 40 participating institutions to be considered for full championship status.

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