Nixa is making room for *two* sophomore quarterbacks.
“Cheylea could really throw the football and this is a quarterback driven, you know, league,” said Nixa flag football coach John Perry. “So if you can throw the football, you’ll have a chance to win. And we got some girls that can catch it…it’s been really fun.”
Meet QB1: Cheylea Pamperien. Her teammates go by…
“Well, it just depends,” Perry said. “Like you got “Two point” because she intercepted a couple of two point plays last year. She plays Cornerback. We got a “Little Bit” because there was a little girl out here last year. We got 3 little bits cause we got 3 little girls so little Bit A, B and C.”
Nixa is one of the many girls flag football teams looking to make this a sanctioned sport in Missouri.
“I’m just hoping that it keeps growing,” Pamperien said. “It’s already doubled in Missouri from last year, the first year we got to play it. There’s like 30-something teams.”
And it comes with the help of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“There’s an initiative with NFL to do this and you know we jumped on board last year,” Perry said. “I mean they helped buy the uniforms and the and the flags and all that and we just had to make some road trips to Kansas City to play.”
While it’s not officially recognized yet by MSHSAA, the girls get their chance at a Friday night under the lights.
“Played [football] at the Nixa Parks until I was aged out of it and super sad that I couldn’t continue to play,” Pamperien said. “The opportunity is not there for a lot of girls. So it’s awesome that we have the opportunity to [play football].”
