Flag football made its debut as an AIA-sanctioned sport on Tuesday. Among the 57 Arizona schools that offer it is Mountain View High School, which celebrated its win over Mountain Pointe. (Photo by William Wilson/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX — As the sun scorched the turf, black-eyed high school girls took to the field at Mountain View High School after Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray tossed a coin that marked flag football’s first season opener as a sport sanctioned by the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
Mountain View and Mountain Pointe have both competed in flag football as a club sport in the past, but Tuesday night’s Nike Kickoff Classic was different — this time there’s a state championship up for grabs.
The fact that flag football is becoming a sanctioned sport in Arizona is just a step in the right direction for the future of women’s sport. There are currently 57 schools in the state that offer flag football as a legal sport, and Mountain View coach Jesus Arzaga expects that number to double by next season.
Arzaga was part of the committee that helped sanction flag football for the state. After his team won the Mesa City Championship last year, his team is ready to compete again with more at stake.
“They’re different around these girls,” Arzaga said. “It’s a different competition, it’s a different will to want to win and compete.”
Although flag football differs from tackle football, the aggressiveness and physicality displayed during Tuesday’s game underscores the increased competitiveness this season. When the score was tight in the fourth quarter and emotions were running high, a flag was pulled and a scuffle broke out between two players. Both players were eliminated from the game.
Shortly after the fight, the Toros won 12-7 on a game-winning touchdown after Pride was penalized for “pulling the flag in an unsportsmanlike manner.”
Nicole Bidwill, Cardinals vice president and sister of Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, was in attendance and said she’s enjoying the increased awareness surrounding flag football the most because she sees women athletes embrace the recognition and new opportunities for women to play football.
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“You (women) can do anything you put your mind to,” Bidwill said. “It’s a really fun sport and you can find a way to do it, and you should.”
The future of flag football looks bright and Mountain Pointe coach Sergio Ramirez is optimistic it will become an Olympic sport by 2028.
“These girls will have the opportunity to get scholarships,” Ramirez said. “Play in college and end up winning a gold medal. It’s huge for this particular sport and huge for the potential of these girls.”
Ramirez said three seniors last season received college offers to play – and one former player is currently playing in college. Next up could be Mountain Pointe standout freshman Amaya Moreno, who showcased her talent as a quarterback throughout the game. She will also play quarterback for the freshman football team.
Moreno knows she will face adversity between both teams’ practices and games and that her attitude will be key to successful seasons. The newcomer phenom has caught the attention of many with her skills at just 14, but her motivation to play stems from wanting to be an inspiration to younger girls who want to play football.
“Girls will have the opportunity to go to the next level,” Moreno said. “I want to be there and be someone to look up to, like a role model. And have good character so younger girls can continue to inherit and as women continue to break down barriers in football.
“The game is bigger than me now. I just have to assert myself and break through barriers with my team in both flag and tackle areas.”
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