By Sapna Pathak
Staff Writer

Observer/Bruce Preston The Manchester Freedom, the only semi-pro women’s tackle football team in the Granite State, begins the 2006 gridiron campaign late next month. The Freedom has several local athletes on this year’s roster. As a group, the Queen City club wants to prove it plays an action-packed brand of football, something skeptics find hard to believe.

Though the group has the market cornered as New Hampshire's only semi-professional women's tackle football team, the Manchester Freedom continue to face one very high hurdle.

“The biggest thing is getting people to know we're here,” said head coach Dave Sarvis. “Then it's getting them to realize this isn't two-hand touch, and when we say ‘tackle football,' we mean it.”

The Freedom is one of more than 30 teams in the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), entering its sixth year of existence.

Sarvis, a football coach for more than 27 years, said he came to New Hampshire and coached Pop Warner teams until a friend approached him about the Freedom.

Watching female athletes go full tilt on the gridiron enticed Sarvis to follow the Freedom. Eventually, his interest earned him a job as the team's defensive coordinator in 2001.

Since then, the hits haven't become softer, the plays haven't grown easier, and the women haven't lost passion to play.

Freedom's local flavor

Goffstown's Sue Foss grew up playing a variety of sports, including rugby in college.

Foss even attended Goffstown High School before it had a football program.

Upon learning about the Freedom from a team member last year, Foss made the 2005 roster as a linebacker, She continues to learn the game while competing.

“One day I put on the pads, hit someone full force, and haven't stopped since,” said Foss. “I never knew a lot about the game, but ‘Football for Dummies,' has become my new favorite book.”

Salem's Lauri Izzi also joined the team in 2005 with no prior thoughts of playing football.

Izzi played soccer in an allwomen's league in Bow before trying out for the Freedom.

At 5-foot-5, 180 pounds, Izzi described herself as a small player by league standards.

The first hit she absorbed is one she won't soon forget – for a good reason.

“I'd never even thought of playing football as a kid,” said Izzi. “I gave the Freedom a try and was put against the biggest player on the team at practice. One hit was all it took for me to realize this was for real.”

Salem's Dee Morrow, a 5-foot-11, 265-pound offensive lineman delivered the hit that forced Izzi to fall in love with football. Unlike Izzi, however, Morrow – a high school softball and basketball player – said she wanted to pop pads her entire life.

Sarah Packard comes from the same mold as Morrow. The Concord resident said she's always wanted to play competitively beyond the flag football games she entered as a child.

Packard said she jumped at the opportunity to try out for the Freedom after serving as the team medic for the past two seasons.

This season, she'll start at cornerback or safety.

“That first time you level someone is priceless,” said Packard. “I'm looking forward to my first game so much.”

Like Packard, Pelham's Catherine Dumont has waited a long time to take the field.

Dumont, who owned a football and helmet at 6 years old, said she's not exactly the typical football player. A 5-foot athlete in her 40s, Dumont is a mother looking to teach a valuable lesson to someone special.

“I'm showing my daughter that it's ok to do things that are male-oriented. She's at an age where girls are supposed to play with dolls and have long hair, and I'm showing her that's not the case.”

Continued from page B-6 A five-year Freedom veterna, Epsom's Julie Carignan is Manchester's team captain.

The Saint Anselm College graduate said growing up with four older brothers made football a part of her every day life.

Myths about women's football

Though they come from different walks of life, these teammates are battling some preconceived notions formed by outsiders.

“They expect it to be more like flag (football),” said Dumont. “Most don't even know we exist. But once we tell them, they don't believe it's really tackle.”

Foss agreed and said most people think the Freedom play a “watered down” version of football.

Packard and Carignan said most everyone they speak to automatically assume the team refers to a flag football league.

According to Izzi, such skepticism is sometimes accompanied with a common criticism: Women shouldn't play football at all.

“It hurts, but we know it'll take time,” Izzi said. “It took time for the WNBA to be accepted, and now we're working our way from the ground up.”

Sarvis said he presents the same challenge to all skeptics. He dares people to watch the Freedom and not become hooked and amazed at the players' ability and intensity.

Playing for pride

Fans may be more surprised to learn there's no monetary compensation for playing in the IWFL.

“They play just because they love football,” said Sarvis. “It's not full of prima donnas who are here for big checks.”

Freedom players make the sacrifice of time, energy and money, while risking personal injury.

Carignan said to these athletes, the game isn't a job.

As the team prepares for its season opener on May 20, the athletes hope fans will follow the Freedom and learn IWFL action takes a toll on the body.

“When you hear two 6-foot girls hit and hear their helmets reverberate, you know it's for real,” said Sarvis. “These girls do not play two-hand touch.”

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Freedom home games are played at Manchester West High School's Memorial Field. Games are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and general admission tickets are $3.