Johnson will face the Economedes High School Jaguars from Edinburg in a best-of-three series, beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at Veterans Field in Laredo. Game two will be held at the same field at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8. Game three, if needed, will be played at noon Saturday, May 9.

The Jaguars will take on Laredo’s United High School in a best-of-three series, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at UniTrade Stadium in Laredo. Game two will bring the series back to Buda at 7 p.m. Friday, May 1. Game three, if necessary, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 2.

The program began after a local flag football league connected Hays CISD to the Dallas Cowboys, who have been donating items to school districts across Texas to grow the sport.

“They provided everything financially: they pay for the officials that come officiate the game; they gave uniforms; they gave us packages with game balls, pylons — the things you set up in the end zone — cones to use, flags to use; they gave everything to us,” said Hays CISD assistant athletic director Dusty Gibbs.

So, after receiving the donation from the National Football League team, the district communication team sent out interest surveys to all girls at Hays, Johnson and Lehman high schools to gauge whether there was any intrigue.

Flag football, according to Gibbs, is a wide-open, fast-paced version of football, where instead of tackling an opponent, their flag is pulled instead to make the ball “dead at that spot.”

He noted that the sport has gained traction over the years, with nearby districts, such as Austin ISD, adding the sport and it recently being recognized in the Olympics, which made district leadership discuss the opportunity for students. Flag football has also been discussed at the University Interscholastic League to determine whether to sanction it as a sport for schools.

“There was a lot of interest in this [from students] and what was real appealing to this is we always look at the data before we do these things and the Dallas Cowboys actually provided [information] that about 50% to 60% of the girls that participate in flag football don’t play other sports. So, that was important to us. It’s another way to get more kids involved [in an activity],” Gibbs said.

Then, coaches from each high school eagerly volunteered to work with the girls and facilitated the tryouts that led to the now three established teams. Although there is currently one team of seven students, Gibbs stated that there are additional students to fill in gaps when other commitments come up, as some students are in other sports, as well.

The first tournament was hosted March 28, said Gibbs, but each team has played four games, with the records as follows:

• Hays High School: 3-1

• Lehman High School: 4-0

• Johnson High School: 2-1-1

“You don’t really know what to expect when it’s something new and when we hosted at the end of March, I was there for the whole tournament that morning and … [the games] may have been one of the most awesome experiences I’ve ever had in coaching and I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” explained Gibbs. “I went and talked to some of the girls that were playing and a couple of the girls were like, ‘This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.’ The gameplay was wonderful; we have tremendous athletes out here.”

Not only has the program brought the ability to encourage students who were previously uninvolved in sports to join a new activity, but it allows athletes to continue training throughout the offseason. Gibbs stated that when students are involved in sports, their grades, attendance, mental health, social lives and more improve.

As the season continues, the director shared that Hays CISD is hoping to continue its partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and grow the program, as long as the interest is there, including a potential junior varsity team.

He did state that, currently, the district isn’t looking into a male league because many of the traditional football students participate in a sport called 7-on-7. Although it isn’t an official district sport, nearly every player participates outside of school in the off season, so there isn’t a need currently.

Hays CISD will host a second flag football tournament from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 25, at Bob Shelton Stadium. The event is ticketed at $5 per adult and $3 per child.

“It is an awesome experience and those girls do a great job. The sportsmanship is great [and] the competitive play is great. You’ll see some very good athletes on the 25th for those people who want to come out,” concluded Gibbs.

The Jaguars went on to beat Steele High School 12-9 Thursday, April 2, bringing the team’s record to 17-11 overall and 7-3 district. 

The Jaguars were in third place in their district going into the press time game, and final home game of the season, against San Marcos High School Tuesday, April 7. The last two games of the regular season will be at 7 p.m. April 10 and April 14, against Canyon High School and Cedar Ridge High School, respectively. 

The Jaguars, who finished fourth in district play, made a postseason run after posting a 6-3-3 district record. Their playoff journey came to a close against a strong Lake Travis squad, which earned a 3-0 victory.

Lake Travis took control early and led 2-0 at halftime, before adding another goal in the second half. Despite the loss, the Jaguars closed out the season with a 9-11-3 overall record.

Going into its game against Clemens High School at press time Tuesday, March 24, the team had a 15-4-2 overall record, a 2-1 district record and was third in the district.

The team went on to play and beat La Joya High School 52-49 in the Area round Friday, Feb. 20. At press time Tuesday, Feb. 24, Johnson will take on the Brennan High School Bears at Canyon High School in the Regional Semifinals. The winner will face Bowie High School in the Regional Finals, which will be held Feb. 26-28.

The team made program history by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since the school opened.  The Jaguars faced Laredo’s United High School for the Bi-District round of playoffs Monday, Feb. 16, and won 67-63. The team will take on the winner of the Feb. 17  game between San Benito High School and La Joya High School in the Area round either Feb. 19, 20 or 21 at a time and place to be determined.

The team’s next home game is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, against Canyon High School. 

The Jaguars will travel to Judson High School at press time Jan. 20, before returning home for back-to-back home games against Steele High School — Jan. 23 — and San Marcos High School — Jan. 27.

The Jaguars’ next home game will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, when they host Dripping Spring High School.

The Jaguars defeated the Lobos 12-5. The Lobos closed out the regular season over the weekend, while the Jaguars have one last game against Davenport High School at press time Tuesday, Sept. 30.

The Jaguars will head to Steele High School at press time Tuesday, Sept. 30, before returning home to take on San Marcos High School at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3.

The Tigers scored 35 points in the first half and scored another 17 points in the second half, earning a total of 52 points at the end.

The Tigers defense held the Jaguars to only 157 yards rushing and 54 yards in receiving, while the offense could not be stopped and had a very productive game.

The offensive stars were:

• Quarterback Chase Ames: 24 of 30 for 356 yards, 13 yards rushing and one touchdown

• Lawson Attaway: 61 rushing yards and eight yards in receiving

• Jaceton Gotta ran for 40 yards, 16 yards in receiving and one touchdown

The Tigers receiving corps was equally impressive. The stars were: Merrik Bloomgren, who had 10 catches for 158 yards and one touchdown; James Mongomery with three receptions for 94 yards; and Cooper Reid with seven receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

Next up for the Tigers is Akins High School at Tiger Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.

Jaguar Jett Hickson (No. 9) scores a touchdown during the team's away game versus the Stony Point Tigers. The Jags will travel to Austin High School Thursday, Sept. 11, for a non-district matchup. District play for the Jaguars begins Sept. 26 against the San Marcos High School Rattlers.

The Jaguars will begin district play at press time Tuesday, Sept. 9, when they host San Marcos High School (3-4 overall).

The Jaguars went on to beat the Raiders 7-4 in game two, which was held Sunday, May 11, earning the team a spot in the regional finals. Johnson will face East Central High School (22-11 overall, 8-4 district) at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at Long Creek High School. Game two will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16, and game three, if necessary, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 17.