Girls flag football is OHSAA's 29th sport

Girls flag football in Ohio has come a long way in five years. The sport's first division in the state was created in northeast Ohio in 2021. Three years ago, only 20 schools in the state fielded teams. With the support of the NFL, the sport has exploded in popularity, and the OHSAA took notice. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it has elevated girls flag football to a fully recognized sport for the 2026-27 school year, following a unanimous vote of the OHSAA Board of Directors at its June meeting. "I think it's a huge day," Sandusky flag football coach Mitch Sweet said. "These young ladies have worked extremely hard and this is a start of a payoff and the recognition they deserve. "The girls learned a ton and enjoyed being around a new sport, and the support they got fueled their success. It was really cool to watch. The thing that made it easy for them to make those sacrifices was the enjoyment they got by playing." Sandusky had the only flag football team in the area this year and the Blue Streaks — in their debut season — went 9-2. They qualified for a regional tournament and lost 28-20 to eventual state champion Macedonia Nordonia. That game was played at the University of Akron in mid-May. "Nordonia parents were saying to our parents that we were the best team they had played up to that point," Sweet said. "They were showing great respect to our girls. When we went outside the area, people realized how good we were. "It was an amazing atmosphere. I thought our girls would be a little shell-shocked, but they weren't. We came ready to play and it was the biggest crowd we played in front of all year." Those crowds will only get bigger now. Girls flag football is the OHSAA's 29th recognized sport, including 15 sports for girls and 14 for boys. There are now 23 high school state associations that sanction girls flag football and 40 states that offer the sport. Flag football will be included as a new sport in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "The OHSAA is so proud to welcome girls flag football to our family," said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. "Flag football has grown so rapidly and will continue to do so. The Browns, Bengals and NFL put in so much work to promote the game and bring us to this moment." This past spring, there were 162 high school girls flag football teams in Ohio. The OHSAA partnered with the Browns, Bengals and the Pro Football Hall of Fame to conduct the state tournament. "The recognition of girls flag football as an official varsity sport in Ohio is a tremendous milestone for student-athletes across the state," said Cleveland Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam in a news release. "At the Cleveland Browns, we believe in creating more opportunities for young athletes to learn, compete and grow through the game of football and this decision marks just the beginning of that journey for many young women across Ohio." The OHSAA said that the Bengals and Browns will continue to be heavily involved with girls flag football in Ohio. Dates for the 2027 season and tournament will be determined in the near future. The OHSAA has discussed adding more regional tournaments and another division. Sweet said the Browns' support was key in starting Sandusky's team. The Browns provided footballs, flags, cones and other equipment. "It was great that the Browns supported us," Sweet said. "I don't know if that money will be around forever for new teams. It's definitely Olympic driven. My understanding is the Olympic committee is funneling money to the NFL and the NFL is funneling money to their teams. The teams are funneling money to the high schools to help with the recruitment piece for the Olympic team in 2028." Sweet, whose team lost only once in the regular season (to Midview, which finished third in the state tournament), is a proponent of expanding opportunities for athletes. "Knowing the OHSAA, I'm interested to see if they add divisions," he said. "There were teams in our league that were way smaller than us. "The next question is what do the playoffs look like? The Browns' region had 121 teams and took only 16 into the playoffs. If they let more teams in, that really shows how special this (year) was. We were one of 16 teams getting in from a 120-team field. That's like back in the day when you only had four teams in a region on the boys' side." Sandusky had nearly 40 girls on its flag football roster. Sweet said playing games on Friday nights and Sundays helped participation numbers. Five Blue Streaks recently competed in an all-star event at Baldwin Wallace University. Seniors Maekhiya Rameau, Brooklyn Long and Dayzha Laye — who will play collegiately for Mount Union — and underclassmen Journey Newell and Brieauna Wright participated. "Our kids handled their own and played extremely well," said Sweet, who coached one of the teams. "Khiya went off for five touchdowns, (quarterback) Brooklyn Long had eight touchdowns." Flag football has been discussed by the Northern Ohio Conference, the new league that debuts this fall that will be made up of 10 former Sandusky Bay Conference schools. As of now, Sandusky is the only league member with a team. "It's been such a positive, high-energy thing," Sweet said. "It gives girls another outlet to compete. It's nice to see something new and fresh. We've seen girls wrestling and this addition speaks to the increase in opportunities for females to compete. "The OHSAA sanctioning that helps drive that forward, and with the continuing support of the Browns and Bengals, I hope keeps it growing."