LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Lackland's first varsity flag football team, the Warhawks, held tryouts Saturday and Monday gearing up for San Antonio's city-wide league in the Texas Flag Football Association.
This will be the first team fielded only by Lackland players.
After a brief warm-up, the tryout consisted of an eight-on-eight scrimmage, with the isolation of plays in order to rework the defensive coverage on a certain set and the offensive execution of a play.
The Warhawk tryouts saw 20 players vying for a spot on a team Warhawk Coach Robert Hernandez said would probably have a 15-player roster.
"We are trying to figure out what positions the players will play. We are looking for football intelligence. We have players that have never played flag football before so we are looking for good technique as well," Hernandez said.
In previous years, Lackland and Randolph AFB had fielded a joint varsity flag football team, winning last year's Texas Flag Football Association's Division B.
"[Our season outlook] is pretty good, we have experienced players on the team already, but there is also good competition in this league. So we're shooting for the playoffs." Hernandez said.
Although a new team, the Warhawks will benefit from including players from their intramural league and experienced TFFA veterans, such as quarterback and assistant coach Ivan Thomas.
"We took division B in the downtown San Antonio league. We play against firemen, police teams and we play other military somtimes," Thomas said.
The nine to 10 game season will begin Saturday and will be played Wednesday and Thursday at Olmos Basin Park, and Saturday and Sunday at Tally Road Sportsplex.
TFFA rules state flag football is a non-contact sport. Substituted for tackling, a player is considered down when a flag located on a belt is removed by an opposite team member.
Differing from tackle football, the games are played on a 80- by 40-yard field instead of the usual 100- by 50-yard field, and utilize four quarters of 10 minutes each.
In the event of a tie at the end of regulation each team is given four additional downs to score.
If no one scores, the team with more yards in overtime wins.