All-women full-contact football team is its own legacy

The team name is like a call and answer to its own destiny.

The Silver State Legacy is a group of trailblazing women whose presence on the football field demands a change to Southern Nevada history.

Twenty-nine gridiron mavens have stepped up to the literal and proverbial lines of scrimmage in a league of their own for two years. They play games with full contact and full NFL rules via the Women's Football Alliance.

Here's the kicker: They're not decked out in lingerie or a singleton in a huddle of men, organizers say.

"It's a rush beyond compare," said Shannon Scarlett, director of operations and former left guard for the North Las Vegas-based team.

She was born and bred in Texas, where "football is everything," she said.

A level playing field for pigskin-loving women such as her who loved the sport wasn't available.

"In Texas, women couldn't play football or have anything to do with coaching," Scarlett said. "It was a man's world."

Shannon was part of the pendulum shift in her new hometown of Las Vegas. After a stint with the other WFA team, Shannon and her husband, Tony Scarlett, set out to form the Silver State Legacy.

Their blitz of sorts was very similar to how the WFA was founded. Husband-wife team and former athletes Jeff and Lisa King created the regionalized, affordable alternative league that has grown to 63 teams in three years.

Shannon and Tony, a former NFL Europe player and coach, pooled their own money and local talent and led the team to a division champion in its inaugural year.

The 2012 season is set to begin this month, and the Legacy has been perfecting its game twice a week at Legacy High School, 150 W. Deer Springs Way. Tony coaches the school's boys' varsity football team in the regular season.

Eighteen veterans returned for the team's second season, and 11 are included in the roster.

Some of the newbies were introduced to the game the first time they picked up a regulation WFA ball, Shannon said. Others came to the field with decades of blood, sweat and tears devoted to the game.

Jaime Principe, who plays tight end tight end and tackle, recalled falling in love with football around age 4.

The registered nurse played competitive softball, tennis and basketball in place of the tackle sport she desired. Flag football leagues in Las Vegas didn't grab her like news of the Silver State Legacy.

"When I heard of this opportunity, I jumped at it," she said. "I didn't hesitate."

Player and offensive coach Kerri Mytych vowed to herself that if she ever found a tackle football team, she'd drop everything, if possible, and join.

Coincidentally, two weeks before discovering the Silver State Legacy, Mytych decided to be a stay-at-home parent to her two young sons.

"I've been an athlete my whole life," she said. "It's a love-hate thing, hate in that I want to spend more time mastering (the game), but we have responsibilities to work and family."

Each WFA team relies on fundraisers, sponsorships and word-of-mouth advertising to meet travel and league costs. Teams play others in their region.

"The WNBA had to start somewhere as well," Tony said.

The team has four home games at Legacy High School planned this year. The first is planned for 7 p.m. Saturday.

A season ticket pass is $30. Single home games are $10 for adults, $7 for military personnel and seniors and $5 for kids. Kids younger than 12 are admitted free with a paying adult.

The league's championship game is slated to be broadcast on ESPN this year.

Tony Scarlett said the team has impressed him on and off the field.

Many players work out together outside of practice and train long before the season begins. A family dynamic formed, Principe said, especially during times of strife. She suffered a partial ligament tear in her elbow last year.

The Silver State Legacy adds a charitable bent to team bonding. The women donate time and energy to organizations such as Family to Family Connection and the Jump for Joy Foundation and donate blood as a team.

Proceeds from team fundraising support not only the team's present but the future of women's football, Shannon Scarlett said.

The team hopes to host regional camps for young and adult women interested in the sport and seminars to groom more female coaches.

"Finding people who have the same passion as yourself is extremely exciting and rewarding," Mytych said. "I'm excited to be a part of something that will be great for the future."

The team and the sport continue to turn heads, Tony Scarlett said.

"A lot of girls are getting into it now," he said. "Flag football is coming into high schools as a competitive sport. If they want to go further, there is an outlet for that."

For more information, visit wfafootball.com or silverstatelegacy.com.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.