Flag football event helps Arizona high school teams prepare for second season this fall

High school flag football will enter its second season as a competitive sport sanctioned by the Arizona Interscholastic Association this fall, but teams already are preparing for the season.

Last weekend, eight teams participated in the inaugural Fight Club 7-on-7 tournament at Dobson High School in Mesa; Mountain Pointe, Vista Grande, Basha, Tolleson Union, Marana, Canyon View, Higley and St. John Paul II Catholic. A boy's Fight Club tournament also was held last weekend.

Just Chilly, a local FM DJ, started hosting the Flight Club flag football tournament in 2020. It was only for boys.

But, girls' flag football completed its first AIA season last fall and interest is growing, and the Fight Club event was another step in helping promote the sport.

Marana High School walked off the field Friday as tournament champs among the eight teams that participated, but perhaps more significant was how they even showed the growing interest in girls' high school flag football.

Last fall, 56 Arizona schools participated in 6A and 5A flag football conferences, most of them in the Phoenix area. The number of teams participating this fall is expected to be well over 100 with more branching outside of the Valley.

“You are living in the perfect time to be a female athlete,” said Toby Bourguet, founder of Tucson Turf, a training facility for young athletes, speaking to the teams before the first whistle blew. “There is no other game in the world growing at this rate. Girls' flag football is it. Ride this wave.”

Bourguet is the father of Arizona State University quarterback Trenton Bourgeut and Rylen Bourguet, who starred in soccer and beach volleyball at Tucson Salpointe Catholic last year before attending ASU on a beach volleyball scholarship.

Rylen worked with Just Chilly to plan the event. She played beach volleyball for ASU last season, and made the 20U National Girls Flag Football team.

Ryen grew up playing football with her brothers in their backyard, but never got the chance to play football on a girls' team, so she's thrilled that the sport now is sanctioned by the AIA.

“It gives girls the experience they deserve,” Rylen said. “The girls in this community deserve the same respect the boys get.”

Related: Xavier Prep flag football athlete makes U20 team for USA Football Select Bowl

Participating teams and players expect the sport to continue its growth in Arizona.

“I’m glad it's gaining popularity. There’s a lot of women out there that want to play. I like playing, and now I get to,” said Jordynn Carriere, a senior at Mountain Pointe High in Ahwatukee.

Toby Bourget said the sport stands on its own and shouldn't be compared to boys' tackle football.

“This has nothing to do with boys,” he said. “This is young. We can grow it. Let’s treat this like it’s golden, because it is.”

Trenton Bourget served as one of the officials in Friday's tournament.

“This is a great opportunity to spread the game and awareness for girls,” Trenton said. “We know the game is growing super fast out here in Arizona. We’re just trying to give them a platform to play the game and are trying to get them as much exposure as we can.”

A flag passing tournament was scheduled for the following day as part of the Fight Club weekend, in which about 40 teams were expected.

Dominique Martinez, a sophomore at Vista Grande, said the Flight Club tournament was the perfect platform for the sport.

“It gives a chance to show people how successful girls' flag football is. It’s really fun that they do this for us because I know football is a big thing, but it’s really good that they do it for girls,” Martinez said.

Anya Carrillo, a senior at Vista Grande, recognizes the sport is going to be much bigger in the upcoming season. Events like Fight Club will help prepare girls who will be playing for the first time this fall.

“This gives us more experience for the girls that are just coming in, and what to expect for the school year,” Carrillo said.

Many of the girls already have their eyes set on the next level, the Olympics.

Gilbert’s girls' flag football coach Brian Winstead said he has players who sign up with all kinds of skill sets. Some of his players sign up not knowing anything about football, but are eager to learn. He has others that sign up for the team and immediately ask how they can reach the Olympics in 2028.

“A lot of my girls come up and ask me ‘How do I be a part of that team? How do I be able to get to that level?’ That’s a huge thing for them,” Winstead said. “Just to be able to have that opportunity to go be a part of an Olympic team and to be the first one to do it.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Flag football event helps Arizona high school teams prepare for second season this fall