Eager parents intently watched as their energized flag football players ran out from an inflatable tunnel to the gridiron at Coral Shores High School on Feb. 10. Championship bling in the form of a ring awaited the best team in each of the three divisions on this Super Bowl Saturday.
An inaugural Upper Keys Flag Football league, organized by local barber Randee Blanco just months before, brought 140 youth participants every Monday night during the winter months at Harry Harris fields in Tavernier. Players in kindergarten through second, third to fifth and sixth to eighth grades donned flags and eye paint as they ran routes, caught the ball and juked defenders as they steamed to the end zone. Parents sitting close to the field lines were tuned into the game, cheering on the team and rooting on their kids.
“It was amazing to come out on opening night and see all the people show up and all the smiles on kids’ faces.” “I drove home that night and said, ‘Ok, that went well,’” said Blanco, who came to the Keys from Orlando and opened a shop in Key Largo in 2021.
Months before the playoffs and championship games at Coral Shores, Blanco listened to parents from the community who wished a flag football league would come to fruition in the upper island chain. In just a short time, signups began around the fall. Before Blanco knew, player signups began to explode as the word spread around the community. With help from his wife, Krissandra; John Allen, county parks director; Ed Holly, Coral Shores athletics director; and the community, the league was off and running.
Upper Keys Flag Football organizer Randee Blanco, center, congratulates the K-2 champions during Super Bowl Saturday on Feb. 10 at Coral Shores High School. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger 
Sights from the first ever Upper Keys Flag Football League Super Bowl Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at Coral Shores High School. The event featured 10 teams total in 3 divisions, K-2nd grades, 3rd-5th grades and 6th-8th grades. The winners of each division were given a ring ceremony and a UKFFL Championship ring. Photo by Doug Finger
“This wouldn’t be possible without the community,” Blanco said. “The community put up money and helped facilitate and organize the league.”
Blanco also overcame challenges recruiting coaches and referees. Some coaches took on two teams, while members of the community, including high school football players, put on the black and white stripes to officiate games.
“We were a well-oiled machine by Christmas,” Blanco said, adding that the league was competitive and not “Sandlot style.” “We have no-run zones which force players to throw the ball. A lot of kids learned a new way to play football.”
Holly, who’s also the Hurricanes head football coach, said he was particularly impressed with the turnout and the high level of coaching. Flag football in the Upper Keys means kids can have a football in their hands from kindergarten all the way to their senior year.
“They can play in the flag football league and move their way to middle school and then J.V. and varsity. And that should lead them to playing for 80,000 (people),” Holly said.
With the inaugural flag football season complete, Blanco said the momentum will carry into year two with a new high school division and an earlier start to the season.
Blanco is aiming to make the league even more affordable for families, in a bid to bring more players out. And he’s hoping to play games at Founders Park in Islamorada. As he prepares for another season, Blanco also stays busy umpiring youth baseball and soccer games.
