Marlee Osborne Photos by Kyle Thornton

Girls advance to semis

By Michael Butler

Back in August, there were 113 participating schools ready to kick off their seasons in the AHSAA's newly sanctioned sport of flag football. This week, only four teams are still playing.

Tallassee's inaugural team has reached the Class 1A-5A semifinals and will play Catholic in Montgomery on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the state championship game.

"The girls have worked hard all year and (gotten) better and better every week," said Tallassee head coach Pat Love. "They grew as football players. I'm extremely proud of them. I'm not surprised of where we are."

Tallassee beat Marbury 26-0 last week in the quarterfinals behind senior quarterback Regan Easterwood, who was responsible for three touchdowns - two passing and one rushing.

"I played a lot of backyard football growing up," Easterwood said. "It wasn't that hard. My brother played football. We always threw around. It was definitely a different throwing mechanic, but coach Pat taught us well."

One of Easterwood's top targets has been freshman Reese Gough, who had never picked up a football prior to this season.

"It was new," she said. "At first I couldn't catch it."

The Tigers are 12-1-1. Their lone defeat was on Sept. 5 against this week's foe. Catholic (15-4) won 40-7.

"We're a totally different team than when we played them early in the season," Love said. "We were very new. We're totally different defensively and offensively. It's going to be a good game. I expect us to go down and win."

Sophomore Marlee Osborne is also optimistic about Tallassee's chances on Tuesday.

"We've built a lot of confidence throughout the season from that game," Osborne said. "We've learned a lot. I think we have a really good chance."

2024 Schedule/Results

*Photos by Kyle Thornton

Headed to the fourth round (bottom, left to right): London O'Neal, Kam Tate, Reese Gough, Jordyn Morris, Lila Kate Fulgham, Regan Easterwood, Abbi Carwile, Haley Scoggins. Top (left to right): Cheyann Easterling, Maddie Tennyson, Jaaliyah Williams, Marlee Osborne. Not pictured: Alli Smith.