“It’s so important to give opportunities to girls in any sport, which is amazing, but especially football. It’s forever been for the men, and now the girls are taking over, and it’s so exciting to watch,” said Naperville Central girls flag football player Caroline Schwartz. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
In only its second season as an IHSA sport, girls flag football continues to see rapid growth in Illinois. The number of teams competing more than doubled from just over 100 in 2024 to 217 teams in 2025.
“I’m not surprised but more so excited because I feel like once we started a flag football program in the IHSA, I knew it was going to grow rapidly, so it’s not a surprise, but I’m really excited about it,” said Naperville Central girls flag football player Malia Shen.
Three area schools form flag football teams
Benet Academy, Naperville Central, and Naperville North are three of our area schools with flag football programs as members of the IHSA. Last season, the Redhawks and Huskies both experimented with club programs to gauge potential interest. After a positive response and strong numbers, the two District 203 schools, along with Benet, officially entered their names into the IHSA.
With flag football being such a new opportunity within the state, it gives these girls the chance to showcase their athletic skills on the field, whether they have competed in other sports or not.
“I’ve never played or watched football before. So I just thought it was fun to learn football, it’s just something to see everyone be so competitive,” said Benet Academy girls flag football player Eve Sterbenz.
While some players have little to no previous varsity sport experience, many familiar faces are getting in on the fun this fall, including Naperville Central soccer standout Malia Shen. She made her mark right away, scoring a pick-six on the Redhawks on the first play of the season in the team’s win over Rosary.
The Redhawks already have enough players for a varsity and a junior varsity team. Seeing this new sport grow at her school and across the state brings excitement to Shen and her teammates.
“A lot of these girls are from different years in high school, so it’s really fun because I like the camaraderie of the team, and all these different levels and ages of girls coming together to play makes it really cohesive, and it’s really fun to get to know all the other,” said Shen.
Familiar faces take part on the gridiron
The local teams comprise athletes with a diverse range of athletic backgrounds. The Benet Academy roster features a large number of girls basketball players, including Eve Sterbenz, Bridget Rifenburg, Emma Briggs, and Ava Mersinger, who are bringing their talents from the court to the gridiron. Sam Kelly from Naperville North girls basketball is also a name to know for the blue and orange.
Girls flag football is played differently from traditional tackle football. Each team features seven players, competing in the traditional 12-minute quarters. Pulling the flags results in tackles, while teams must reach the 20 and 40-yard lines to pick up first downs. Touchdowns are six points with the option to go for one or two points following the score.
Flag Football carries a bright future
Regardless of how the Redwings, Huskies, and Redhawks perform this postseason, the future of girls’ flag football is bright, as the rest of the state hopes to see the number of schools increase to 300 by 2026.
“I’m really excited to see how it grows and how the teams get more strategic, and just to see the growth of the program,” said Shen.
For more prep sports stories and highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
