Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Playing Football Helps Women Cope
Full-contact Sport Channels Energy Towards Positive Flow As Team Fulfilling Daughter’s Dream
LINCOLN — Brandie Doerr has sustained knee and shoulder injuries, but right now her biggest hurt is her heart.
The divorced mother of three had both of her daughters cheering her on Saturday when the Arkansas Lady Rampage beat the visiting Kansas Phoenix 22-12 at the Lincoln High School football field, but she misses her son something fiercely.
Doerr’s emotions threatened to pour forth as she explained why she wears jersey number 59. It is her son’s football number.
“He used to be with us every day. He’s with his father now,” Doerr said.
“By wearing this,” as she pointed to the Rampage jersey number 59 her youngest daughter was wearing after the game, “he’s always with us.”
Doerr got pregnant in high school, and all of her adult life was wrapped around her rela- tionship with the father of her children — until the divorce.
If Doerr held any ill feelings towards her ex-husband other than heartbreak, she never gave voice to them.
“I married my best friend, in fact, he’s still my best friend,” Doerr said.
Playing full-contact football is a way for Doerr to channel negative energy that might build up and release such energy in a positive flow as part of the Rampage. The physical efforts she puts forth and the mental focus required by the game serve to get her mind off her personal circumstances and contribute to team success.
Alesha Carr, of Fayetteville, suited up for Saturday’s game knowing her father was being removed from life support the same day. James Boatwright, team manager and personnel coordinator, said Carr’s father, Earnest, had attended most of her games and he enjoyed talking to him. According to Boatwright, Earnest Carr collapsed unexpectedly and had been hospitalized.
Boatwright talked to Carr about the situation two days prior to the game.
“Brett Favre lost his dad and
The power of fathers to advance their daughters socially and athletically through an active involvement in their lives cannot be underestimated.
Jerry Rogers founded the Arkansas Lady Rampage, a franchise in the Women’s Spring Football League, which play their home games at Lincoln, to help his daughter, Kelsey, fulfill a dream.
“She called me up and said, ‘I’m moving to Kansas City.’ I said ‘what for?’ She said, ‘to play football,’” Rogers said.
Rogers said Kelsey was good at it, playing defensive end and middle linebacker in a women’s football league at Kansas City. Not wanting Kelsey to go back to Kansas City, Rogers said he contacted one of the fellows hooked up with a local semipro men’s team and began recruiting players to form a women’s football team so his daughter could continue to pursue her newfound passion without having to relocate.
Rogers set up the franchise in a pay to play league as a notfor-profit organization dedicated to providing the unique experience of playing competitive football for women 18 years of age and older and has drawn players in their forties.
“We had a pretty good response. We actually had more people on the roster back then,” Rogers said, referring to the beginnings of the team in 2011.
Rogers said Kelsey played a season and a half as a fullback and defensive end and linebacker for the Rampage.
“She was one of the few experienced ones, which helped,” Rogers said.
Kelsey isn’t playing anymore and is now going to college pursuing a degree. Rogers said he tried talking her into playing the last three games this season because the Rampage was short- handed, but she declined.
“I said, ‘don’t you need to hit
came out and had the game of his life, I think you’re capable of doing that,” Boatwright said. “That’s what she came out here and did.”
Carr had three interceptions and scored the game’s first two touchdowns by running back picks as the Lady Rampage built a 16-0 first-half lead with quarterback Marsha Linny carrying the ball in twice for 2-point conversions.
Carr’s plays were gamechangers. Her second pick came with 31 ticks left in the second quarter to begin a scoring extravaganza in the waning seconds of the first half. The return was a long run covering better than 65 yards. Then, Carr’s kickoff went over the head of Kansas’ Tracy Glover, and the Phoenix began at their 25-yard line.
Linny picked off a pass and scored the third Rampage touchdown for a 22-0 lead after the 2-point try failed. Mariya McGillivary ran back the ensuing kickoff for a Kansas touchdown and the Rampage led 22- 6 at halftime.
The Phoenix recovered a Rampage fumble near midfield in the third period and a pair of receptions by McGillivary advanced the ball to the Rampage two. Kansas ran the ball for a touchdown. The extra-point attempt failed and the Rampage maintained a 22-12 lead with neither team scoring thereafter.
Former Razorback Jermaine Petty is the Rampage head coach. Petty attributed the team’s 0-4 start with a lack of practice time together as a unit. The Rampage have won two of their last three games.
“Just imagine if we had everybody there at the beginning, you know, everybody showing up for practice and everybody is committed to playing, we could be undefeated,” Petty said.
Kym Tocci, team owner, said some early- season opponents had many more players and could rotate the lineup on every play.
“Recruitment is a tough one for us,” Tocci said. “We’ll be recruiting through December [for next season]. It’s an all-open practice. Anybody interested can come out.”
The team practices from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Sundays and from 6 to 8 p. m. Wednesdays at J. B. Hunt Park, at Springdale, with home games played on the Lincoln High School football field. Petty noted Saturday’s win put the Rampage in the conference championship game to be played at the Dallas Xtreme on July 21.
“I told the ladies tonight, it’s not how we start, it’s how we finish,” Petty said. “We didn’t start out good, but we’re finishing good.”
Tocci said Carr’s father passed away Sunday.
“I just came out here and played with my heart and everything for him,” Carr said. “Every touchdown, every interception and this win is just for him. That’s who it’s all for.”