High school girls flag football’s popularity in Merced continues to surge in second year
The growth of girls flag football in high school was on full display Saturday during Merced High School’s 2024 Kickoff Classic.
The number of teams more than doubled in the second year of the event.
Merced hosted 20 teams on campus, spread across five different fields, compared to the nine teams participated in the inaugural event last year.
Another five teams were on a waiting list, according to Bears coach Victor Nazario. It’s possible the event will become a two-day tournament next year.
The popularity of girls flag football continues to grow as the sport begins its second year of high school competition.
According to Nazario, there were 65 girls who tried out for the Bears flag football team this fall. That was up from about 30 last year. Meanwhile, Atwater saw girls from other sports show interest in playing flag football this year.
Number of teams almost doubled
The Sac-Joaquin Section has seen the number of school offering girls flag football nearly double to 130 teams this season from 69 last season. As a result, the number of playoff teams this season will double to 64 teams from 32.
“To have 130 teams in the second year is pretty impressive,” said Sac-Joaquin Section Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard. “I mean, that’s pretty close to our number of tackle football teams. I think we have 149 tackle football teams out there. It’s pretty unprecedented as far as the excitement behind this.”
Many Merced-area schools jumped on board with girls flag football during the first season with Merced, Atwater, Golden Valley, El Capitan, Buhach Colony, Livingston, Los Banos, Pacheco and Mariposa high schools all fielding teams.
Three more teams in Merced County
Hilmar, Gustine and Dos Palos have all added flag football teams this season.
Dos Palos High athletic director Irene Barrantes said girls on campus were interested in playing so she was able to add the sport.
Last year, Lompoc High School was the only Central Section school to offer girls flag football. This year Dos Palos is one of 10 schools in the Central Section to field a team.
“The girls love it,” Barrantes said. “I mean, we do have some overlap with volleyball, but we allowed them to play both sports. I just scheduled games on different days than volleyball.”
Flag football is catching on at the collegiate level with many smaller colleges adding teams. Bigger colleges are adding it as a club sport, which may pave the way for it becoming an official sport in the future.
Men’s and women’s flag football has already been announced as an addition to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Teams further along in second year
Many of the players in the Merced-area who played last year are happy to be back on the field.
“I was really looking forward to it,” said Atwater quarterback Madi Hiler, who named the Central California Conference MVP last year. “I always wanted to play football when I was little. I would always try to get my brother to play with me but he never would so just getting to play is fun.”
After playing for a full season, the second-year programs feel have a good foundation to build on.
“We’re a lot further a long,” Nazario said. “We actually have plays in place where last year we were kind of winging it. We were trying to figure out where the girls should be, what position they should play. Now we have a set offense.”
Merced sophomore quarterback Antonia Lejarde said she is more comfortable this season.
“I know more about the game,” Lejarde said. “I know more of the rules and my reads are getting better on the field. I was ready to get back out here.”
The second year has also brought some rule changes. Last year only one defensive player could rush the quarterback. Now two players are allowed to rush.
Quarterbacks had as long as they wanted to throw last year if there was no defensive player rushing. This year quarterbacks only have seven seconds to get rid of the ball or incur a 5-yard penalty.
To help create more offensive production, players only wear two flags instead of three and the games now have 24-minute halves, increased from 20 minutes last year.
“I think all the rule changes have been positive,” Nazario.
The sport seems poised to only grow from here.
“There’s a ton of excitement behind it, and there has been from the very beginning,” DeBoard said.
