CSB Flag Football team wins playoffs in inaugural season

On April 25, the CSB Flag Football team competed in the Midwest Women’s Flag Football League Playoffs. After a 13-12 win against St. Olaf in the semifinals, the Bennies went onto the championship game to face Concordia. They overcame being down 6-20 at half and went onto the beat Concordia 26-20. In their inaugural season, the CSB Flag Football team went 7-1 and took home the championship. 

Sophomore Drew Buslee said the team’s goal for the season was to make it to the playoffs because only the top nine teams make it, and their ultimate goal was to win it all. 

Heading into the playoffs, the team felt well prepared. 

“The whole week leading up to it, we did lots of drills and fundamentals in practice. We stayed consistent and felt well prepared when we got to the games. Our coaches did an amazing job preparing us for that atmosphere,” Buslee said. 

Reflecting on her time with the team, Buslee said this was the most fun she’s ever had on a sports team. 

“I chose to join last minute and I’m so happy I did. Our coaches did a great job making it such a fun environment. It was also so fun getting to know all my teammates because everyone was from different sport backgrounds, so it was a good mix of people,” Buslee said. 

Buslee’s favorite moment from the season was winning the championship. 

“We weren’t supposed to win, so being able to come back after being down at the half and win it was so unreal. Everyone got down after the first half, but someone from the bench started screaming and encouraging us, which brought the mood back up and helped us to come back and win,” Buslee said. 

First-year Nora Schmidt said her experience on the team was better than she could have ever expected. 

“It was such a fun environment, full of girls who were driven enough to want to win. It was amazing being part of a winning team with amazing coaches and teammates,” Schmidt said. 

Looking back on the season, Schmidt said she had a wonderful experience. 

“My overall experience was a ten out of ten. All the girls were so kind yet competitive. We pushed each other to get better every day, then would end practice eating dinner together and hanging out. The bus rides were some of the best parts and the whole environment of flag football was so fun from the CSB Jamboree to the playoffs,” Schmidt said. 

Schmidt’s favorite moment from the season was the championship game winning hail mary touchdown pass to Buslee. The one-handed catch by Buslee was scored with less than a minute left in the game and ended up being the winning touchdown in the Bennies 26-20 victory over Concordia. 

“The team celebrating together and holding up the trophy was an unforgettable moment,” Schmidt said. 

Head coach Joe Bartos and his team had three goals heading into their first season. 

“We wanted to meet the institution’s vision and mission to build the next generation of empowered young women. We also wanted to be great teammates and great competitors,” Bartos said. 

The team emphasized these because this was all that was in their control. Being their first year, there was no recruiting. Everyone was a walk on, so Bartos felt the team could work on these goals throughout the season. 

Bartos said being able to coach this team was truly a blessing. 

“I was excited for an opportunity to create something new at a school I really love and believe in,” Bartos said. 

Making it to the playoffs was very exciting for the team. Bartos said it was intense and highly competitive, which was different than the jamborees the team had been playing in all season. 

“Both games were very competitive, but the championship game was super special. During halftime, the message was that we were only down two scores and could come back from this. If we get back to how we’ve been playing all season, we can win this. We wanted to change the tenure of the feeling and we came out playing ball the second half,” Bartos said. 

As the first coach of the CSB flag football team, Bartos had several memories from the season. However, the end of their very last practice stuck with him the most. Multiple members of the team said they were sad it was the last practice and wanted to come back the next week and practice. 

By this time, the season would be over, and the playoffs would’ve passed. 

“They wanted to come together, play again and play more. The championship was amazing, but with those comments I knew we had already won with what we set out to do. We were a team,” Bartos said.