By Mason Byers
Flag Football Writer
From the club level all the way to the 2028 Summer Olympics, the boom of flag football has been remarkable.
Arizona high school flag football more specifically has had a steady incline over the last couple years. Flag football was a club sport for some high schools for the past few years, however in 2023 the Arizona Interscholastic Association sanctioned flag football as a high school sport. The inaugural year saw two conferences, 6A and 5A, with a total of 54 teams between the two conferences. The hype was real and the sport has only seen positive growth since this time last year.
Flash forward to the present day there are now three conferences in flag football, 6A, 5A and now 4A. There are also 102 schools now that have a flag football team which is almost double just a year ago. Some schools have also implemented junior varsity teams due to the amount of new players joining the sport this fall.
The growth can be attributed to the teams who played in the inaugural season last year who showed the amazing qualities the sport has. This allowed the opportunity for a lot more schools to get involved and more players in general to be a part of the sport. It inspired a lot of people who may have not even played flag football before to get involved and help start teams for their high schools. The addition of so many new schools has also opened the doors for more coverage.
This includes the Honor Bowl having two games this season for flag football. The first one is on September 20th where the defending 6A champions Mountain View will take on Red Mountain. The second game is on September 21st in which the defending 5A champions Campo Verde will face Hamilton.
Hypamark will also hold an invitational towards the beginning of the season called “Make Our Mark Invitational”. It is a tournament based event that will include some of the top teams in Arizona to participate in.
Televised games will also be a part of this season. Arizona Family announced that for eight weeks during the regular season they will have games of the week in which they will broadcast those games and provide coverage.
This coverage is crucial for flag football as it can show schools who still do not have teams to possibly add them in 2025. It is only a matter of time until there are more schools that have teams, which means more conferences, and overall more players.
This is only just the start for flag football as the rapid growth continues to shine through. From the coverage of the sport, to how many schools participate and overall the amount of players that join each season, flag football should only continue to grow in Arizona and nationally.
Favorites for the upcoming flag football season
6A
When discussing favorites for the 6A conference it would be negligent to not include the reigning champions in Mountain View. The Toros entered the 6A bracket last season as only the ninth seed, however their ability to finish close games is the reason they made the run that they had. They took down first seeded Highland Hawks and the fourth seeded Hamilton Huskies. Expect Mountain View to be in the conversation for the 6A title once again.
Also expect Red Mountain to be in the conversation for the 6A title this season. They went 14-1 last year and their only loss came in the 6A semifinals to Mountain Ridge. The Mountain Lions had impressive wins during their season including a win over Mountain View during the regular season. Red Mountain is expected to come out and avenge the great season they had last year, but this time finishing the job.
5A
The reigning 5A champions Campo Verde have the expectation to go back-to-back this season. The Coyotes at one point during the 2023 season were 4-4. They then went on a eight game winning streak to finish their year which included three wins in the playoffs to teams they had previously lost to. Expect the duo of junior quarterback Izzy Pap and senior wide receiver Madison Coger to be dominant once again.
The Canyon View Jaguars were one point away from winning the 5A championship last season. They lost 14-13 in the championship game to Campo Verde, something they won’t forget this fall. The Jaguars had dominant wins throughout all last season and will hope to bring that momentum with them. Canyon View will be led by senior quarterback Katelyn Jewell who had 55 touchdown passes last year. Expect their stellar offense to not skip a beat this season as they hope to get another shot at the championship.
4A
This is the first year that 4A will be a conference for football which means it will crown its first champion. The biggest favorite for this conference is Eastmark. The Firebirds competed in 5A last season which saw them go 13-1 with their only loss to Higley in the playoffs. They had a 13 game winning streak and it seemed like no one could stop them until the playoffs. Eastmark dominated in 5A and you can only assume they will do the same in 4A.
The two biggest threats to Eastmark in the 4A conference are Mesquite and Flagstaff. Both schools were also in 5A last season and had some success in the playoffs. Mesquite went 10-5 last year, and with a lot of players returning, they project to do well in 4A. Flagstaff also did well with quality wins, one of which being against Campo Verde who they defeated in the regular season. Mesquite and Flagstaff pose threats in 4A and they both have the rosters to back that up.
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