They arrived at the field with no previous workouts, practiced 45 minutes and then won their first-ever game against a team with previous game experience. Those were the girls from Houston in the Minnesota pilot summer league for girls flag football, which will be an Olympic sport in the next 2028 games. The National Football League (NFL) is promoting it, specifically in this area, by the Minnesota Vikings, who have invested $300,000 in developing the sport with the goal of seeing it sanctioned as a high school sport by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). Eleven states already sanction girls flag football; Minnesota has just become one of another 19 states who have run pilot programs, resulting in 30 of the 51 state associations participating in girls flag football in some way.
The La Crescent-Hokah Lancers and the Houston Hurricanes both competed in Minnesota’s inaugural 2024 summer league season along with Pine Island and Rosemount. Terry Donovan, La Crescent-Hokah activities director and flag football coach, said the goal in Minnesota is to have at least 20 teams for two consecutive years. That would go a long way toward becoming a state-sanctioned high school sport.
Getting a late start this past spring, it took a while to get the program organized. Many of the girls were already committed to long-standing school spring sports, such as track and field, softball and golf. And then there were the already-established, off-season summer leagues for basketball and volleyball.
The Houston girls got an even later start, not among the four flag football teams that embarked on a four-week, eight-game schedule in June. By word of mouth, Houston became aware of the activity and inquired about how to join in next year’s season. However, two weeks into the four-week schedule, the Hurricanes replaced a team that had been unable to honor its commitment. So, after phoning on a Thursday, the Houston girls grabbed some AAU basketball jerseys for their first game on Sunday.
Even with that short three-day notice, Houston was able to field a roster of 16 players, mostly junior-high-aged girls, who were nevertheless eager to challenge older opponents. Coach Dale Moga said the greatest challenge was the players becoming familiar with football terminology, such as running pass routes identified as “slants” or “comebacks.”
Their first practice was the 45 minutes prior to playing and winning their first game. Kudos to coaches Moga and Joffre Pedretti. The slate called for two games on the same day each week. The Hurricanes dropped the nightcap that first day and would finish the season with a 3-win, 3-loss record.
The season culminated on July 14 with a four-team tournament at the Vikings outdoor practice facility in Eagan with seven television outlets on hand. With the third seed, Houston opened with a loss to second seed La Crescent-Hokah. Then the ‘Canes went on to win the third-place game versus Pine Island. The seeds held throughout as top seed Rosemount got past the Lancers in the championship contest, but only by one point.
It must have been fun for the 16 Houston girls with 26 Hurricane athletes already planning to play next spring.
Five players from each team, using a junior football, compete on a field 25 x 70 yards (50-yards between goal lines with two 10-yard end zones). The five players on offense consist of a center, a quarterback and three receiver/backs. All five are eligible receivers. A game consists of two running-clock, 20-minute halves.
The offensive team takes possession of the ball at its 5-yard-line and has four plays to cross midfield (20 yards). Once a team crosses midfield, it has four plays to score a touchdown. Crossing midfield is the only opportunity to gain a first down within a single possession. If the offense fails to score, the ball changes possession, and the new offensive team starts its drive on its own 5-yard-line. An intercept would be an exception to starting at the 5-yard-line.
Both coaches said there are usually considerably more passing plays than runs, but Moga noted a successful running play can be a major factor. There is no blocking or stiff-arming, so elusiveness – the ability to avoid defenders in space – can be determinant. He said there were some ball-carriers capable of juking or executing spin moves that rendered defenders grabbing only air instead of a flag.
The 11 states that have already sanctioned girls flag football include western states Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, California and Colorado along with Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Georgia in the south as well as New York in the northeast and Illinois in the Midwest. Most states play flag football in the autumn, but a couple play in the spring; Nevada plays in winter.
If word spreads as expected, the Lancers and ‘Canes should have more rivals closer to home in 2025.
Carissa Hubbert says
How can I go about organizing a girls high school team for next season?