e-Edition
Sign up for email newsletters
Sign up for email newsletters
e-Edition
TRENDING:
Five years ago, Maria Osagie-Erese knew nothing about flag football.
Today she is the first student-athlete from The News-Herald area to earn a college scholarship to play flag football at the next level.
A recent graduate of South, Osagie-Erese said she will join Mercyhurst’s program this coming fall after receiving a substantial scholarship to join the program that just moved up to Division I with its fledging flag football program.
“Five years ago I didn’t even know what flag football was,” Osagie-Erese said. “Five years ago I wanted to play soccer. My dream was to be on the USWNT. It was my favorite sport, but something was missing.”
Enter the sport of girls flag football, where Osagie-Erese spend the past three years as a running back and defensive back for the South Rebels. All of a sudden, her love of soccer and her proficiency in track as a shot put and discus thrower started to take a back seat.
This past spring, Osagie-Erese helped led South to a 17-2 record and a second-place finish in the first state girls flag football tournament at Massillon Paul Brown Stadium. She led the team with 362 yards rushing to go with 14 catches and 179 yards through the air, finishing with seven total touchdowns.
Defensively, she had 18 stops.
She will play running back and defensive back at Mercyhurst, but quickly added, “I’ll play whatever position they want me to play.”
Osagie-Erese certainly could have chosen track and field for college. She was a Division I regional qualifier in the shot put with a throw of 37-feet, 10-inches. Her PR in the discus was 96-1.
“Flag football is a lot of short-burst running,” she said. “It really fits what I do. At first I thought I’d be going to Kent State for track, but Mercyhurst’s coach came to see us play and see our games and that’s when everything changed.”
Most of the colleges that have scholarship opportunities in flag football are in Florida or southern state, Osagie-Erese said. Location to Mercyhurst — just an hour or so from Willoughby — played a big part in her decision, as well.
She plans to major in international business with a minor in French.
Though she graduated a few months ago, Osagie-Erese joined her South teammates at the NFL’s flag football championships in Canton this weekend. The Rebels went 1-2, with a win over a Cincinnati Bengals team and losses to teams representing the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.
It’s been a highlight week for girls flag football. Not only are the flag football championships going on in Canton this weekend, but the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced it is sponsoring the 2026 state championship game next spring as the latest step toward the OHSAA officially sanctioning the sport.
It’s a journey Osagie-Erese is proud to be part of, along with being the first girl in area history to receive a college scholarship in the sport.
“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “I think girls are finally getting to play and be on the big stage like the boys. It’s long overdue. I’m excited to be part of it.”
Copyright © 2025 MediaNews Group