By FRED KRONER
Mahomet-Seymour junior Courtney Fonte had an active role with the high school’s fledgling flag football team before practices started.
She was a recruiter.
“I have played football before, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” Fonte said. “Once I knew the idea was thrown out that we might have a team, I was immediately excited and tried to get others on board to put a team together.”
Her efforts were successful. Unlike some startup programs, which are low on numbers, the first M-S flag football roster lists 30 players.
Twenty eight of those are underclassmen and 15 of those are juniors.
They are all part of the historic first M-S flag football team.
“It is super exciting,” senior Ella Walk said. “Being part of something brand new, especially in my senior year, is really special.
“Knowing that we’re making history for our school and community is a great feeling.”
The team’s other senior, Reese Harrell, is looking to establish a solid base so that future Bulldog teams can experience success.
“I am beyond honored to be one of two seniors to be a part of the inaugural season as it has been many years since a new sport has been added to the school,” Harrell said. “It’s exciting to know we are laying the foundation for the future of the sport for the school.”
Until practices started in August, most of Harrell’s football experience came from sitting in the stands as a spectator.
“I grew up watching my brothers play football, since I was in first grade, so I thought I would give it a shot,” Harrell said. “Other than playing catch in the yard, and my class of 2026 absolutely dominating in the Powder Puff flag football games during homecoming week the last three years, (experience was) none.”
M-S boys’ basketball coach Adam Schonauer was honored to be chosen as the school’s first flag football head coach.
“There aren’t many times anymore where you get to be the first to do something to start a legacy,” Schonauer said. “It is pretty surreal, but I am looking forward to seeing the program grow and progress.
“Hopefully, we look back in 30 years and see what we were able to start.”
The first game, played on Wednesday (Sept. 3) was held at Kankakee, a second-year program. In its inaugural season in 2024, Kankakee was 10-2 and won a regional championship. Fourteen players return from that team.
The schools battled to a 0-0 deadlock until Kankakee scored two touchdowns in the last half-minute to salvage a 16-0 win. The second score came on an interception return.
“I was very nervous when we came out for the first game,” Fonte said. “I was excited to finally start playing games after practicing for a couple weeks and I didn’t expect everything to go great with it being the first game.
“It wasn’t the best game I have played because of the nerves, but it was definitely fun to start the season out with the team.”
Without previous experience in the sport, many Bulldogs were uncertain how they would fare. They did, however, have one goal.
“The only expectations I have for myself and the team is just for it to be a fun environment, and I think it has exceeded my expectations,” senior Ella Walk said. “Every practice is fun, and learning a sport without having any prior knowledge is challenging, but it makes it fun being able to learn as we play.
“I think the coaches play a big role in making it a fun experience for everyone. The biggest challenge is just putting all of the components together in order to be able to successfully make a play.”
Flag football features four 12-minute quarters, with a running clock. To make a first down, teams must gain 20 yards in four downs, except the first possession, when teams must advance to the 20-yard line after starting at their own 14.
There is no blocking allowed in flag football and penalties are assessed for making contact, unless it is incidental. There is no kicking, except for punts. Seven players are on the field at one time for each squad. The game is officiated by three referees.
“There are no rules for aligning on offense,” Schonauer said, “so you can manipulate the defense and try to scheme your offensive strengths.
“You are also allowed to blitz whenever and from wherever. Since you are not allowed to block, it can cause some problems for the offense, but be a weapon on defense.”
Many of the Bulldogs’ players have been – or still are – involved with other sports throughout the school year.
“The hardest part has been not being hard on ourselves,” junior Mollie Schifo said. “We all know that we are new to this, but most of us come from other very competitive sports backgrounds.
“This makes us have a strong competitive mindset, so we just want to be the best, but we are all new.”
Schifo ran cross-country as a freshman. Walk played tennis in the fall as a freshman and sophomore. Harrell was on the swimming team as a ninth- and 10th-grader. Both Walk and Fonte have played on travel teams in soccer during the fall season.
While on staff at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Schonauer had eight years of experience coaching football, working with both the offensive and defensive units, at the freshmen and sophomore levels.
He didn’t need to have his arm twisted to return to the sidelines.
“I decided to coach for several reasons,” Schonauer said. “I used to coach football and enjoyed the game, so it was a way to get back into it.
“I wanted to give our female students an opportunity to play if the program was ready to begin, and didn’t want to just sit idly by and not have a season.
“It is getting harder and harder to find coaches and the students are the ones that suffer. That is not fair to them. The season is short enough that I will still have some down time before basketball season starts.”
One of the Bulldogs’ freshmen players is Schonauer’s daughter, Kendal, and Adam Schonauer added, “the window is getting smaller to spend these moments with her.”
M-S wasn’t discouraged with its start.
“We were actually really proud of ourselves,” Schifo said. “We thought that we would get ran through, being as they are a seasoned team, but we were able to hold our own.
“Coach told us we played good for it being our first game, and that we just have a couple of kinks to work out.
“We had fun, which is ultimately all that matters.”
Added Harrell: “It was a back-and-forth battle the entire game and unfortunately the other team was able to capitalize on us and scored.
“I could not be any prouder of all the girls for everything we did as a team to keep up the fight to the very end. Kankakee has a full season under their belt, so for us to walk on the field with zero experience and do what we did was just awesome.”
Schonauer dwelled on the encouraging signs from the first game.
“There were a lot of positives,” he said. “The girls competed and made plays. We knew we were much farther ahead defensively and that offense would be a work in progress.
“The playbook was pretty thin and we just didn’t know how the game would look and what kind of adjustments we would need to make. It was a good learning experience, and the best part was the girls’ response.
“They came back more focused and more connected as a team. They saw that they were capable of being a good team and wanted to improve.”
The team’s turnaround happened quickly. Three days after playing its first game, M-S went to the Peoria Jamboree and won twice.
The Bulldogs needed late-game heroics to edge Peoria Richwoods, 25-24, on Saturday (Sept. 6) before dispatching an opponent – Danville – which had also fielded a team in 2024. M-S was victorious, 21-6, over the Vikings.
“I knew the first game was going to be rocky, but we did better than I thought,” Fonte said. “We kept our composure for most of the game and worked well as a team.
“Just after the first game, I can see our team growing and we will continue to build together. There are lots of great friendships on this team and I look forward to continuing this journey with them.”
The talk of improvement is not wordspeak. Seven days after opening the season at Kankakee, the Bulldogs had a rematch with the Kays in their own home-opener.
M-S gained a measure of revenge on Wednesday (Sept. 10) with a 22-14 victory for the team’s third consecutive win.
Fonte threw three TD passes, all to sophomore Keely Miller, and junior defender Ava Watkins broke up a pass play with less than 2 minutes left on the clock that clinched the victory.
Walk said the team’s camaraderie has made for a wonderful experience.
“I think the most enjoyable part of the season has been the people I get to play with,” Walk said. “I didn’t know a lot of the girls that well at the start, but now I would consider a lot of them really close friends.
“The team has a lot of different mixes of people, and I think it makes the team better.”
Schifo acknowledged she originally had an ulterior motive to join the flag football program, but has found unexpected rewards.
“I decided to go out for the team because, to be honest, I wanted the PE waiver from it,” Schifo said. “Now, though, I am very grateful I did it because I have been able to be friends with people that I was not friends with before and enjoy a new sport that I never thought I would do.”
Schnauer asked the players to pick their positions. Then, he and assistant Jansin Garth made the final decisions on where to place everyone. In most cases, the players and the coaches were on the same page.
He emphasized, however, that players should not be satisfied with knowing just one position.
“We have impressed on the girls the importance of knowing multiple positions to allow for more opportunities for playing time,” Schonauer said, ”and it gives us flexibility as a coaching staff.”
Fonte went with familiarity.
“I have always grown up playing quarterback or wide receiver,” Fonte said. “I like throwing a lot because I feel like I can see the field pretty well.
“I like being able to throw long balls and kind of take a leadership role.”
One of her throws resulted in a 70-yard scoring play to junior Erika Johnson against Richwoods.
Walk, a standout soccer player, selected positions where she can utilize her speed.
“I picked a wide receiver and defensive back,” she said. “I love being able to catch the ball and then outrun the other team as a receiver.
“I also love defensive back because I think it is really fun to intercept the ball when they pass it.”
Schifo wanted to focus on defense.
“I knew that I would want to play defense, because I do not have the best hand-eye coordination,” she said. “I tried out a couple defensive positions, but ultimately loved playing outside linebacker.
“I think that that spot is so fun because I get to look out and read the quarterback and chase down people. It has been super fun to practice running where they will be and be prepared to pull flags.”
Interest in flag football is increasing at Mahomet-Seymour.
“There is a buzz around the school right now about the team,” Adam Schonauer said. “As long as we achieve our goals, we will have more players continue to join the team.”
The goals for Year 1 weren’t centered around performance metrics.
“We set three goals,” Schonauer said. “Have fun, learn the game of football and be competitive.
“We are doing a great job of achieving these goals. We want to keep having fun and continue to grow their knowledge.”
The coaches are focusing on the basics this year. Schonauer estimated there are only about 10 plays in the playbook.
The coach has no complaints.
“The girls are hard workers, disciplined and they are eager to learn and have great performances. They are fun to be around, and we see such big improvements each day.”
The staff has needed patience as they teach a game to the athletes, some of whom have never watched the sport they are now playing.
“The players had very little knowledge about the game of football,” Adam Schonauer said. “I wouldn’t say it has been hard, but we started from the ground and continue to work to teach the girls the game.
“They have great attitudes and work ethic, so we have improved quickly. They ask great questions and have bought into developing into good football players.”
And no question, that is a good formula for success.
In its own jamboree on Saturday (Sept. 13) the 4-2 Bulldogs edged Centennial, 32-27, and lost to Bradley-Bourbonnais 53-0.
Against Centennial, Fonte set a program record passing for 468 yards. Ava Watkins hauled in two TD passes. Johnson and Miller had one TD apiece.
The Bulldogs’ next home game will be the regular-season finale on Wednesday (Oct. 1) at Frank Dutton Field against Urbana. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
