COLUMBIA — The mantra rang through the football field on a chilly October morning.
“Inside, outside, inside, outside, inside, outside …”
Coach Christopher Crawford trained the team’s quarterbacks on the proper footwork and rhythm required for a pass.
The players, Takera "TK" Golson and Taija "TJ" Johnson, practiced the dancelike steps in unison before letting footballs fly from their hands.
Both players, like the rest of the football team they play on, are women.
Carolina Scorpion quarterbacks, Taija "TJ" Johnson (left) and Takera "TK" Golson, hone their footwork during a practice on Oct. 15, 2023, in Irmo. Zoe Nicholson/Staff
The two-team organization, consisting of the Carolina Scorpion and the Carolina Warriors, are part of a growing movement for women's tackle football in the United States. The rules of the game are the same as men's football — players wear padding and helmets and scramble for the pigskin, just as men and boys have been doing for more than a century.
For players like Golson, it's the realization of a dream she's had since high school.
"I wanted to play ... Grandma said, 'no,'" Golson said while chuckling during a water break.
The Carolina Scorpion football team formed in late 2022 and played its inaugural season this past summer. They merged with another local team, the Warriors, and will spearhead an 8 vs. 8 season in early 2024 before the official 11 vs. 11 season begins next summer.
But ahead of its second season, the Scorpion have yet to find a home field to play. Blocked from playing on school facilities and stonewalled by several Columbia-area recreational fields, the Scorpion has two months to find a place to play before kickoff.
It's an issue that's seen across the American Women's Football League (AWFL), of which the team is a member, said league commissioner Rod Peters.
Coach Tatiana "Tank" Swittenberg (left) runs defensive drills with players at practice for the Carolina Scorpion football team on Oct. 15, 2023, in Irmo. Zoe Nicholson/Staff
For the Scorpion, Peters and the rest of the women's tackle football teams staking a claim on the gridiron, it's about making people take them seriously.
"This is to get their minds off of lingerie," said Coach Tatiana "Tank" Swittenberg, who played on the boys' football team at Newberry High School and recently for the Scorpion. She referenced the Legends Football League, a semi-professional football league in which players wear lingerie on the field. Many people's first impression of the Carolina Scorpion are of bras and bikinis, Swittenberg said.
"We play actual tackle football ... we put the pads on," she said.
'We're trying to build a family'
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jasmine Caesar and several of her teammates on the Smash women's tackle football team wanted to make a change. Infighting and a crowded league had sapped much of the fun and passion out of the game for them.
It's changed how she approaches managing the Carolina Scorpion, of which she is a part owner.
Jasmine Caesar, player and co-owner of the Carolina Scorpion football team, attends practice on Oct. 15, 2023, in Irmo. Zoe Nicholson/Staff
"What I didn't have or what I wanted to experience, that's what I've tried to put out for those ladies," Caesar said.
Including Swittenberg and Crawford, the Scorpion is outfitted with a team of six coaches, including newcomer Joe Ford.
Ford has coached football most of his adult life, but this year was his first coaching women.
"There's a lot of different personalities, I'll say that, there is," Ford said. "And it's just the change of ... they're all grown adults and they want to play this game. They volunteer to come play this game. They pay dues to play this game. And I noticed a lot of heart with all the girls."
For the Scorpion's players and coaches, it's all about the game. And family. And maybe a little bit of a competitive edge that drives most athletes, even after scholarships and brand deals are off the table.
"We're trying to build a family," Caesar said. "That's what a lot of women need, is a family outside of their own family."
So far, the Scorpion have about 20 players from across the Midlands and state — and even one who lives in Virginia.
The Carolina Scorpion women's tackle football team played their inaugural season in summer 2023. Provided
When their summer season kicks off, the Scorpion will travel across the Southeast, playing eight teams total. The league was created in response to another league, the Women's Football Association (WFA), getting overcrowded with nearly 60 teams, Peters said.
"We just started this league to give these teams something different," Peters said. "Give them a different vibe and a different level of playing football."
He said the league is sitting at nine teams now, but the ultimate goal is 16.
Struggling to find a home
Peters said several of his teams in the league have had issues finding a field on which to play.
Coach Christopher Crawford (left) coaches quarterback Taija "TJ" Johnson (center) on the proper technique for a pass. Quarterback Takera "TK" Golson awaits the throw at Seven Oaks Field in Irmo on Oct. 15, 2023. Zoe Nicholson/Staff
"Teams before have made it hard for other organizations to rent a field," he said. "Whatever they do, whether it be the money issue, whether it be certain situations where they're fighting on the field ... that's what they're experiencing. It's not just there, it's everywhere."
Caesar said she's gotten a litany of excuses as to why local fields won't let them play. High schools won't allow outside teams for insurance liability purposes, colleges won't allow anyone except their own teams and recreational fields reject the Scorpion due to past issues with men's tackle football teams.
It's frustrating for Caesar, who's done what she can to deliver a professional, safe game-playing experience for her teammates. The Scorpion have field insurance, release waivers, an on-field physical therapist and access to mental health counselors. Despite this, she said, they've had no luck finding a field for their four home games next season.
'Sometimes you're like, 'OK, I can't do this,'" Caesar said. "Then you come in and (remember) I'm doing this for a reason. I'm here for a reason. I'm placed in this for a reason. So that's what keeps me motivated to keep going."
A member of the defensive line squares up against two coaches during practice for the Carolina Scorpion football team on Oct. 15, 2023, in Irmo. Zoe Nicholson/Staff
On the morning of Oct. 15, Caesar filmed the Scorpion's quarterbacks for future review. She was one of two dozen players and coaches on the field that morning, when coaches ran defensive drills while trash-talking each other, linemen practiced sacking the quarterback and laughter rang through the cloudless sky as they proved their point. Over and over again.
"So many people say women can't play football, and I'm out here because I have a point to prove," said Golson, the quarterback and former tight end. "I can't hit as hard as some other players ... but it's still gonna hurt."
