Ramos finds calling with flag football at King University

BRISTOL, TN. — Her family didn't want Alyssa Ramos playing tackle football growing up in Denver. They didn't say anything about flag football. "My dad has been coaching football for like 15 years, my brothers always played it. I tried to play tackle football and they wouldn't let me play," said Ramos, the Conference Carolinas freshman of the year for the King University flag football team. "I would play power puff in high school, but it was only one game throughout the year." That all changed during her senior year of high school when the growing sport of flag football was added in Colorado. "I just loved it," she said. "I loved everything about it. I was basketball first and then playing flag. I loved it more than basketball." That led to the 5-foot-2 Ramos to search for a college to not only to earn a degree in the medical field, but also for the opportunity to play more flag football. She found it at King. "I love it. I just love the small town," she said. "I grew up in the city, it is more laid back, it is more quiet, everybody around here locally is just super nice. It is very family oriented and I just loved it. When I came on my visit the campus is beautiful, especially in the summer, you can see how green it is. "I think it is beautiful and I love fishing so I feel like this place was built for me." Her dad approves as well, with her parents making the long trip from Denver to watch her display her talents for the Tornado, which includes 115 receptions on offense, and 63 tackles, 10 interceptions and 11 pass breakups on defense, all while rarely ever leaving the field over the 60-minute, four-quarter game. "He loves it. He is glad that one of his kids is playing at the collegiate level," she said. "He has come to almost all of our games this season." Flag football is in first season at King, an emerging NCAA sport under Trevor Cameron, a former Milligan student and assistant coach, who learned under the tutelage of Ryan Witten, who has led the Buffaloes to an 19-0 mark and a top 10 national ranking this season. "Just learning to build through adversity and how to build a new program is the biggest thing I took from there. Also, just what the game is and what it can become," Cameron said. "They are having a great season this year. Coach Witten was a great mentor for me and still is. Just helping me take from there to here has been a great step." Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college program, and Cameron was able to recruit 15 women from 11 states for this season, and plans to add 10 more for Conference Carolinas action next season. The first NCAA league to sponsor flag football, Cameron said a couple of more programs could be added next campaign. "I find a lot of girls that play high school ball, but it is a big club sport as well. Finding girls in that club level, it just shows they have some experience and they play outside of their high school seasons," said Cameron, whose Tornado play and practice in the middle of the King Track & Field Complex. "It also just depends on where they are coming from state-wise. Some states are a little more developed high school wise and some are really just kind of starting it up." Girls flag football is a wide open, high-scoring, quick-moving and pass-heavy 7-on-7 format in which runners are "tackled" by pulling a flag off a belt tied around a ballcarrier's waist. It is a sport that doesn't care about size, which is good for Ramos, who stands just 5'2", but also earned all-first team honors as a receiver and defensive back. "I feel size does not matter as long as you are able to make an impact, as long as you are competitive," Ramos said. "No matter how tall a girl is if you can stick it to them then that is all that really matters and just being a better skill level. Height is a disadvantage, but as long as you are able to make an impact nobody really cares." King (4-9, 4-5) will conclude its season this weekend in the Conference Carolinas tournament with an opening round game on Friday with Lees-McRae in Durham, N.C. The semifinals are Saturday with the championship game slated for Sunday. The Tornado enter having won three of their last four games. "Just being able to go on that winning streak just felt great and just being able to pull out those wins," said Ramos, whose Tornado picked up their first win in late March against Mount St. Mary's. "We had a rough start to the season so just being able to get those wins was amazing. It felt amazing too. Me and my girls were on top of the world just getting that first win. Just to be able to continue winning and will continue winning for this weekend so I am excited." Ramos scored the first points in program history, her first of five touchdowns on the season with a reception in early March against Cumberland, Tn. "That first touchdown was great because it was the first touchdown of the season," she said. "It was fun just having my girls there celebrating and it just felt good to get some points on the scoreboard." Cameron has gotten contributions from the entire roster this season, inclduing first-team linebacker Caroline Smalls (95 tackles) and second-team center Hailey Mescall. Samantha Lee (1,964 yards, 22 TD) is the quarterback, while Jocelyn Kolozsy recently had three interceptions in a game and Molly Turner has had five touchdown receptions in the last five games. Jadee Salvador leads the Tornado with six scores, while lone local graduate, Allison Holly of Sullivan East, has also shown progress. With just two juniors and no seniors on the roster, the future of flag football looks bright at King. "We are just going to keep growing and getting better every year," Ramos said. "We always have something to look forward to."