Hays-Porter Students Welcome Bengals Rookies to Cincinnati

Nearly 300 Hays-Porter School students got a dose of Who Dey flag football fun with the newest Bengals.

Students welcomed the Bengals rookies to Cincinnati with signs and cheers during the Bengals Flag In-School event at Willard Stargel Stadium.

“Hays-Porter School is a very welcoming school. We love to embrace the whole child and the whole community, so we wanted to share the love and community spirit with the Bengals,” Principal Nedria McClain said. “We wanted to give them a very warm welcome as this is their first introduction to the city and to Cincinnati Public Schools.”

Players set up different flag football stations to teach skills and practice drills to students – all put to practice during a friendly game.

Fresh from mastering zig-zags, fourth-grade student and Bengals fan Promise Chatman said her favorite part of the event was meeting all the players.

One of those players was Bengals first-round draft pick and defensive end Myles Murphy.

“The experience was fun, and eye opening,” Murphy said.

Murphy quickly learned that the playbook didn’t matter when it came to coaching energetic elementary students.

Despite that rookie mistake, Murphy said it was great to “pour into these kids and give them motivation and someone to look up to.”

He said he would have loved a similar experience as a young student and that he, too, would have been that kid running past the end zone.

Kindergartner Kenny Carter exclaimed “good!” when asked about his time on the field. His takeaway? He just might be faster than a running back.