Quick take:
It’s a seven-on-seven game with less of the bruising action of regular football. As the sport takes off locally and around the country, a Santa Cruz County team takes on one from Monterey County.
Flag football, an old sport, is now seeing rapid growth across the country. This Sunday, Aptos High hosts a showcase, featuring 34 top high school senior girls competing: the best of Monterey County traveling here to compete against the best in Santa Cruz County.
Aptos High senior Ella Porter, playing on the Santa Cruz County or north team, told Lookout this week she’s been hooked on flag football since she started playing last year. The 18-year-old said the sport provides another opportunity for girls to develop their athletic ability and be part of a team.
“You need one another to either win or lose, and that’s what’s really special about it,” said Porter. “We have the same wins, but we also have these hard losses, and we get to go through it together.”
It’s football, but without the tackling, and the players have four downs to get to the end zone. To stop the offense, players pull a flag from an opponent’s belt. It’s a seven-on-seven game, rather than the 11 per team in regular football. Young people have played flag football for decades, in physical education classes or recreationally, but in recent years, it’s taken on a more competitive form.
About 2.4 million kids under 17 play in organized flag football leagues in the United States, and the number is rapidly growing across the globe, according to the International Federation of American Football. In response to its growing popularity, the sport will be featured in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2028.
Event organizers Reggie Stephens and Joel Domhoff took notice of local girls’ interest in the sport and put together the event to raise awareness of flag football and celebrate the athletes’ skills. Stephens is a youth sports advocate and former NFL player, and Domhoff is a longtime media arts teacher currently at Renaissance High School in La Selva Beach. They both run nonprofit organizations which help fundraise to run the event: the Reggie Stephens Foundation and the Gino Panelli Foundation – which gives the event its longish name, RSF/GPF Central Coast Flag Football All-Star Game. Domhoff directs the all-star game.
Domhoff began noticing girls showing up to football practices to train with high school boys several years ago. One year it was one girl, he said, and the next year two girls: “Then suddenly we had middle school girls. That’s when we realized, okay, this is bigger than we thought.”
He said he thinks the sport has become more appealing because there’s no tackling but the sport still emphasizes athletic ability.
“It doesn’t have the violent aspect that turns a lot of people off to tackle football. It has all the beauty, the athleticism and the grace,” he said. “These girls are competitive, they’re highly skilled, and they absolutely love it.”
Four years ago, he said, there was no such thing as girls’ high school flag football. Now more than 200 California high schools support teams and some colleges are developing women’s flag football programs. Domhoff said the all-star game is part of a growing effort to give girls the same opportunities that boys have had.
“There are only four women coaching flag football in the area — and all four of them will be coaching in this all-star game,” he said. “That’s symbolic, and it’s important for these girls to see women as role models and think, ‘That’s something I could become.’”
Carmel High School senior Ava Staehle, who is playing on the Monterey County or south team, said she started playing at around age 8 because she was inspired by her older brothers who played football.
“Now I get to play competitively too,” she said. “It’s just such a perfect sport, especially for young girls, to start playing.”
Staehle, who plays linebacker and receiver, said the sport has taught her “to keep pushing myself and to always try my best.” She hopes to keep playing, either through a club or recreationally, when she goes to college next year.
Aptos High’s Porter, who plays quarterback and running back, said she also hopes to play when she goes to college. She appreciates that the sport has given girls another opportunity to challenge themselves.
“Football has always been tackle football for men,” she said. “To have something added for women as fast as this was — I’m very thankful and very excited about that.”
The all-star game day starts at noon with skills competitions, including a 40-yard dash and a contest for the longest throw. The game will start at 1 p.m., featuring four 15-minute quarters. The festivities will also feature a live DJ, a raffle and tacos. For those who can’t attend in person, the game will be broadcast live on the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) website, air on tape delay on Community Television of Santa Cruz and also be posted on social media.
All-star game details:
When: Sunday, Jan. 4, at noon
Where: Aptos High School, 100 Mariner Way, Aptos, 95003
Cost: $5 general admission; free admission for middle school and high school students with student ID
South Roster
Coaches: Alyssa Dixon, Marina; Kalah Ishimaru, Salinas; Marisol Rasul, Alisal
#22 Bailey Casarez, Rancho San Juan, C
#26 Jaslyne Coronado, Salinas, WR/S
#23 Melony Erazo-Chavez, Rancho San Juan, QB
#5 Alissa Escutia, Salinas, WR
#21 Josie Hanson, Carmel, S/WR/QB
#88 Maya Ibarra, North County, QB/RB/WR/S
#10 Calleigh Panziera, Salinas, WR/LB/S
#11 Mia Rivera, Alisal, WR/S
#13 Dania Rodriguez, King City, WR/S
#33 Gracy Ruiz-Gamino, Marina, RB/DB/P
#9 Jimena Salazar-Camacho, Salinas, LB/DB/RB
#6 Elsie Sargenti, Palma, WR/DB
#3 Ava Staehle, Carmel, S/LB/WR
#0 Esmeralda Torres, Marina, WR/RB/LB
#2 Eva Vicencio, King City, RB/DE
#4 Irie Williams, North Salinas, RB/QB
North Roster
Coaches: Frank Galvan, St. Francis; Denise Russo, Aptos; Andy Morris, Santa Cruz
#24 Haily Bettermann, Soquel, DB/WR
#11 Shelby Chase, Scotts Valley, C
#53 Elenah Esquivel, Aptos, LB
#33 Yareli Garcia, Renaissance, DB
#6 Natalia Lapioli, Scotts Valley, CB
#2 Citlali Lopez, Santa Cruz, DB/WR/P (injured, will not play)
#2 Amaya Moore, SLV, QB/RB/WR/S
#8 Lila Mosley, Scotts Valley, LB/RB
#5 Presley Pastrell, Scotts Valley, LB/WR
#4 Ella Porter, Aptos, RB/WR/S/QB
#10 Sammy Rebert, Scotts Valley, WR/DB
#13 Daisy Rincon, PVHS, DB/RB/WR
#14 Leah Serna, Santa Cruz, WR/LB/P
#17 Ben Sommerville, Santa Cruz, WR/S
#18 Eliza Stevens, Soquel, QB
#0 Marina Tucker, Harbor, WR/DB
#42 Brooklyn Williams, Scotts Valley, WR/DB
#3 Ivory Woodson, Soquel, DE/C