By: Lainey Font 

     As the consolidation bringing Youngsville and Eisenhower High Schools together is becoming a reality, the two schools are finding ways to ease the transition. A fun idea that resulted from a collaboration between groups of Youngsville and Eisenhower students is a flag football tournament including the two schools. 

     The student leadership group that developed the idea consists of twelve students in grades 8-11 from both schools. The group began meeting in late January and has been seeing each other bi-weekly in hopes of easing the transition for both sides. They organized an open house in February at Eisenhower and, afterwards, wanted to find a fun activity that the students could meet and bond through. 

     That’s when the group came to the idea of flag football, an event that anyone could participate in or watch for entertainment. A member of the leadership group, Kayl Unida, shared with The Squire, “I feel like one of the many things that this event could do for students is it could be a way for them to find some of their people, so it doesn’t have to be as hard to connect with other students.” 

     The group decided that it would be most beneficial to do teams based on grade levels, so the schools would intertwine. Students must sign up using a QR code around the school to participate as a player or coach. There will be 16 players on each team, including four boys and girls from each school.  

     After some time, the group decided to do tournament style games, all taking place on Friday, May 30. Prior to the first set of games, there will be a cookout for lunch at Eisenhower for all students to enjoy. Following the lunch, both semi-final games will be played. The first game will be eighth vs eleventh grades, followed by ninth vs tenth.  

     Later that night, the championship game will be played at Youngsville at 6pm. The winners of the previous games will compete for the championship. Following the championship game, there will be a bonfire with multiple activities. Some of the planned activities include cornhole, kickball, volleyball, and lots of music.  

     With this activity, the student leadership group is hoping that Youngsville and Eisenhower can begin to view each other as friends, rather than cross-county rivals. Kayl later added, “My hope for this event is to help bring students together and for us to have a chance to interact and learn about each other.” 

     With Youngsville merging with Eisenhower next school year, it’s important to begin blending the two schools. Now that you know everything about the upcoming flag football event, be sure to sign up and participate.