Girls flag football: Hart, West Ranch involved in exciting finishes

There were some notable performances and results in girls flag football last week.

Two games in particular stood out for their exciting finishes and what the games revealed about the teams involved.

Here is a recap of those games:

Highland 28, Hart 27 (OT)

Hart, playing its season opener on Wednesday, rallied from a 20-6 deficit at halftime but wound up losing in overtime on a 2-point conversion by Highland.

Junior wide receiver Jessica Gutierrez finished with a team-high four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown and added 23 rushing yards on three attempts. Junior running back Ellie White had seven carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns.

“Highland is an experienced school with a lot of speed and athleticism,” said Hart head coach Josh Masmela. “This game showed me as a coach and team that we can compete with a lot of really good teams out there. I’m proud, the entire school is proud, and we have a good thing to build off of game one.”

Knight 27, West Ranch 19

The Wildcats opened their season at home against the Hawks on Wednesday but came up short of their first win in program history.

The Wildcats came out of the gates strong with two quick touchdowns, but Knight rallied to pull out a close victory.

“Knowing the record of their team from last year, they were a powerhouse,” said Wildcats head coach Mark Hornberger. “It’s a tough task mentally. Even the refs said they thought it was going to be a blowout. It was frustrating to give up the two touchdowns the way we did, but it was a learning experience for us. We’re going to get better and I couldn’t be happier.”

NFHS setting the course for flag football

Last week, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced it will begin the process of writing the playing rules for flag football, which is a fastest-growing sport across the nation at the high school level.

The NFHS approved its first NFHS Flag Football Rules Committee. The committee is set to meet in 2025 with rules planned to be established for the 2025-26 season.

“The NFHS is excited about this new sports opportunity – particularly for girls,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS in a press release. “Flag is a sport of inclusivity. It can be played in any season (weather dependent), is fast-paced and offers an opportunity for young people to play and others to coach or officiate in the exciting sport of football.”

With the 2028 Olympics announcing the addition of flag football, this is not only huge for girls flag football but for future boys flag football programs as well. Girls flag football participation has more than doubled from 2022-23 to 2023-24 totaling 42,955 girls playing in the sport.