Carson High, an 11-time City Section champion, has been seeded No. 1 for the City Section Open Division playoffs under first-year coach William Lowe.
Birmingham, which has a 54-game winning streak against City Section opponents, was seeded No. 2. San Pedro is No. 3 and unbeaten Palisades is No. 4.
Carson will host No. 8-seeded King/Drew on Nov. 14. Palisades is the home team against No. 5 Garfield, while San Pedro hosts No. 6 Crenshaw and Birmingham hosts No. 7 Kennedy.
There was no City Open Division champion last season after Narbonne had to vacate the title for rule violations.
Venice is seeded No. 1 in Division I. Cleveland is No. 1 in Division II and Santee is top seeded in Division III.
In girls’ flag football, San Pedro was given the No. 1 seed for the Open Division. Games begin on Friday, with San Pedro hosting No. 8 Verdugo Hills; No. 4 Marshall is at No. 5 Banning; No. 6 Wilson visits No. 3 Panorama; and No. 7 Narbonne travels to No. 2 Eagle Rock.
DIVISION I #16 Venice at #1 Jefferson #9 Roosevelt at #8 Carson #12 Granada Hills Kennedy at #5 Franklin #13 Sylmar at #4 Legacy #14 GALA at #3 Birmingham #11 El Camino Real at #6 King/Drew #10 Cleveland at #7 Garfield #15 Santee at #2 Bell
DIVISION II #16 Dorsey at #1 Sun Valley Magnet #9 South East at #8 Bernstein #12 Angelou at #5 Sotomayor #13 Mendez at #4 Stern #14 Fremont at #3 San Fernando #11 Huntington Park at #6 Lincoln #10 North Hollywood at #7 Sherman Oaks CES #15 Foshay at #2 Crenshaw
DIVISION III #16 Hollywood at #1 South Gate #9 Van Nuys at #8 Taft #12 Monroe at #5 Orthopaedic #13 Westchester at #4 New Designs University Park #14 WISH Academy at #3 Hamilton #11 Roybal at #6 Arleta #10 Port of at #7 Chatsworth #15 Marquez at #2 Hawkins
FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION #8 Verdugo Hills at #1 San Pedro #5 Wilmington Banning at #4 Marshall #6 Wilson at #3 Panorama #7 Narbonne at #2 Eagle Rock
Note: Quarterfinals (Divisions I-III) Nov. 7 at higher seeds; Semifinals (all divisions) Nov. 12 at higher seeds; Finals (all divisions) Sat., Nov. 15 at Garfield High.
In the spring of 2020, Doug Caines was burned out and finished coaching football.
“The COVID season probably broke me,” he said.
He had been head coach at Dos Pueblos High since 2018. He had been head coach at Santa Barbara from 2012-14. He remained at Dos Pueblos as a media arts teacher and focused on his own kids.
Then, in 2023, he was approached about becoming the girls’ flag football coach in the first season of the sport. It changed his life.
“Honestly, I’ve never had this much fun coaching football,” he said. “Man is it fun. The girls are just coachable and want to play and most are other athletes first.”
Dos Pueblos flag football receiver Brooklyn Hedricks, left, and quarterback Kacey Hurley.
(Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
That feeling of fun, players wanting to learn and parents watching to enjoy the game instead of worrying about college recruiters best describes the third season of flag football. Everyone realizes this purity probably won’t last for long. Players are already getting offered flag football scholarships to colleges. High schools have started to seek out players.
Yet for now, the participants are enjoying just having the chance to play a sport that used to be reserved for boys.
“Before freshman year, I had never played and never heard of it,” said star Dos Pueblos receiver/defensive back Brooklyn Hendricks, whose father, George, is head baseball coach and also an assistant flag coach.
Dos Pueblos head coach Doug Caines, center, talks with his players during halftime.
(Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)
She was a travel ball player for years in softball. Her parents spent lots of time and money taking her to games around the country. Guess what has happened in her junior year of high school?
“Softball was my best sport, but flag football honestly is my best,” she said. “To get a scholarship offer is crazy.”
Dos Pueblos is 18-2 and part of a strong group of teams from Ventura County and the Santa Barbara area ready to challenge the powerful teams in Orange County. Dos Pueblos’ took 18-1 Orange Lutheran to overtime before losing.
“That was the most intense game I’ve played in,” Hendricks said. “It was such a battle back and forth. It was so much fun.”
Besides Hendricks, who has more than 30 interceptions in her flag football career, quarterback Kacey Hurley has been a key contributor. Last season Hurley was the center snapping the ball to the quarterback. Now she’s the one firing spirals, with 49 touchdown passes so far.
The regular season ends on Oct. 15. The playoffs are Oct. 21, 25, 28 and Nov. 1 with the championship games on Nov. 8.
Caines has been revitalized and rejuvenated.
“It’s been magical,” he said. “The first year was so fun. No expectations. Everything was new — the first game, the first touchdown, the first interception. We’ve been able to keep that going.”
Based on Caines’ coaching experience, a real trend in the coming years could be veteran 11-man football coaches switching to flag football to get back to the days of players learning from scratch and appreciating every moment at practice and games.
Meanwhile, the players will keep having strange dances before and after games, applying eyeblack like it’s makeup and, most of all, having fun playing a sport that isn’t their main one but could be one day.
“This team has great chemistry,” Hendricks said. “There’s never any drama. We have a good set of coaches, We focus on having more fun. We love a win. That’s great. But it’s more of a family.”
Adam Schefter, the most plugged-in NFL reporter anywhere, did in fact begin an X.com post Monday with the words “Tom Brady is coming out of retirement” — but he didn’t mean that the greatest quarterback of all time was actually doing so.
He won’t suit up to spell Joe Burrow while the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback nurses his turf toe back to health. He won’t nudge Russell Wilson into retirement and join the New York Giants.
What Brady, 48, will do is play in a flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia next March.
At least that’s what Schefter wrote.
Brady will join fellow retired New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski and a host of current NFL standouts including Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Maxx Crosby, Sauce Gardner and Myles Garrett in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, a three-team tournament to be held March 21, 2026, in Riyadh.
Pete Carroll, Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan will coach the three five-player teams. The tournament will be held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh and televised by Fox Sports, with comedian Kevin Hart hosting.
The whole thing sounds like fun. It is, however, a business plan disguised as a promotional stunt.
The NFL makes no secret that it is going global — witness the season opener in São Paulo between the Chiefs and Chargers. And Saudi Arabia makes no secret about broadening its sports holdings, investing billions through its Public Investment Fund in an attempt to expand its oil-based economy and mend its international image.
“It is just a great opportunity to expand the game globally,” Brady said in a statement. “Sometimes, you have to get outside your comfort zone to create awareness.”
The NFL will play six more regular-season games overseas this season, three in London and one each in Dublin, Berlin and Madrid.
Flag football has become an easy way to introduce the game to new markets. The NFL has encouraged states to play flag football in high school, and it has become particularly popular as a girls sport.
If you’re looking for a football team that almost certainly will be improved over last season, Bellflower High fits the profile.
The Buccaneers went 0-10. Amir Neal was a starter and never quit. His mom kept telling him, “It’s going to get better, it’s going to get better.”
And it has with the hiring of first-year coach Keith Miller, who has brought along his 14-year-old freshman son, Austin, who’s 6 feet 5.
“We’re going to compete for championships and scholarships,” Miller vowed at a media day on Saturday.
Miller was an assistant at Bellflower when his brother, Jason, was head coach. His daughter plays flag football at Bellflower, so the Millers figure to be influential in the sports programs.
Having Austin around should help. He’s a receiver who’s still growing. New quarterback Elacion Saxton will try to use Miller’s size and athleticism for big plays.
Austin was asked if during a car ride his father treats him differently depending on his performance.
“There’s no difference whether there’s a good game or bad game,” he said. “My dad still loves me.”
After a follow-up question, Austin finally admitted a good game gets him a stop at Chipotle.
Darrell Doucette didn’t mean any disrespect. All the U.S. flag football star wanted to do in an interview that went more viral than any of his numerous highlights was to fight for his sport.
So when he told TMZ in 2024 that he is “better than Patrick Mahomes” at flag football for his IQ of the sport, the generally soft-spoken Doucette wasn’t trying to issue any challenges. Watch the two-time world champion throw touchdowns, catch them, snap the ball and play defense all in the same game and it’s clear he prefers to let his game speak.
“It wasn’t about me vs. them,” said Doucette, who is known in the flag football world by his nickname “Housh.” “It was about flag football, putting eyes on this game.”
With preparations ramping up for the 2028 Olympics, flag football just wants its respect.
Respect for the sport that is no longer just a child’s stepping stone to tackle football.
Respect for its established players who have already won every tournament there is and have eyes for more.
U.S. wide receiver Isabella “Izzy” Geraci runs with the ball during a game against Australia at the USA Football Summer Series at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s not your mom’s flag football anymore,” said Callie Brownson, USA Football’s senior director of high performance and national team operations.
Flag football has graduated out of backyards and into the Olympics, where the sport will debut in L.A. More than 750 athletes from 10 countries from the youth level to senior national teams gathered at Dignity Health Sports Park last weekend to preview the Olympic future at USA Football’s Summer Series, where the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams played friendlies against Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan.
The sport’s growth domestically and internationally came in part through major investment from the NFL, and the league could play a major role in the Olympics: NFL players are allowed to participate in Olympic competition. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was among the NFL stars who immediately took notice as the NFL most valuable player said he would “absolutely love” to play if given the opportunity.
“So it’s not us vs. them or them vs. us. It’s us together as one teaching each other.”
— Darrell Doucette, flag football star, about NFL players potentially competing in the sport at the 2028 L.A. Olympics
Doucette loved hearing the conversation. The New Orleans native grew up playing the sport when seemingly no one else bothered to care. To hear NFL players taking an interest now? It feels like all he ever wanted.
“We’re welcoming those guys,” Doucette said. “We don’t have no issue with it. We just want a fair opportunity. We want those guys to come out and learn because there’s things that we’re going to need to teach them … and there’s things that they can teach us. They can teach us how to run routes and how to cover and do other different things. So it’s not us vs. them or them vs. us. It’s us together as one teaching each other.”
U.S. wide receiver Ja’Deion High evades an Australian defender during the USA Football “Summer Series” at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Olympic flag football is played with five players per side on a 50-by-25-yard field. Teams have four downs to reach midfield and four more to score from inside midfield. The basic tenants of offensive football remain the same from its tackle counterpart: throw, catch, run.
But players don’t juke the same way their tackle counterparts can, wide receiver Ja’Deion High said. When the former Texas Tech receiver was learning the sport, he was stunned when defenders still pulled his flag after what he believed were his best moves. He had to learn flag football’s unique hip dips and flips to keep his flags away from defenders.
The adjustment on defense could be even more difficult. Defenders cannot hinder an opposing player’s forward progress. The NFL’s most mundane hand-check would draw a penalty in flag football.
“The athletic ability [of an NFL player], I’m not questioning,” said defensive back Mike Daniels, a former cornerback at West Virginia. “But the IQ aspect, the speed of the game is completely different.”
USA Football, the governing body of U.S. flag football responsible for selecting the national team, has not outlined how NFL players will fit into the tryout process for the 2028 Olympic cycle. But with the Games scheduled for July 14 to July 30, the one-week flag competition could overlap with the beginning of NFL training camps. Even preparations to learn the new sport and practice its unique schemes would take valuable offseason time away from NFL players.
U.S. wide receiver Laval Davis, left, attempts to catch a pass as an Australian player defends during the USA Football Summer Series on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley was ready to burst into patriotic song at the mention of representing the United States in the Olympics, but when reminded that he might have to miss part of training camp for it, he backed off immediately. He spoke directly into a video camera to assure Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh that the job that pays him $5.4 million on a four-year rookie contract is all he needs.
USA Football has remained in contact with the NFL about how to integrate professionals, said Brownson, who worked for the Cleveland Browns for five seasons, including three as the assistant wide receivers coach. With the Games still three years away, USA Football is focused on keeping doors open to all prospects and offering educational opportunities for potential players to become familiar with flag football.
“The cool thing about our process is when you come out to trials, there is no name on the back of your jersey,” Brownson said. “You get a number and you have the same opportunity to try out as the person next to you. … We’ll just be excited to have the best team that we could but I always do and will always stand up for who we currently field.
“They’re the best flag football players in the world, both men and women, and they deserve their flowers, too.”
The U.S. men’s national team is the five-time defending International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world champions. Since Doucette made his national team debut in 2020, the U.S. men are undefeated in international tournaments with gold medals at two world championships (2021, 2024), the 2022 World Games and the 2023 continental championship.
U.S. wide receiver Amber Clark-Robinson scores a touchdown against Australia at the USA Football Summer Series at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Led by quarterback Vanita Krouch, the women’s team is 33-1 in the last six years. The U.S. women have won three consecutive IFAF world championships and the 2023 continental title while finishing second at the 2022 World Games.
Krouch has become an international flag football star after a four-year basketball career at Southern Methodist. Examining talent transfers from other sports has helped strengthen the USA Football athlete pipeline as the organization researches the best qualities for flag football.
Baseball and softball players who can whip passes from odd arm angles can thrive in a game that features multiple quarterbacks. The U.S. national teams have former basketball, soccer and track and field stars.
The sport values agility and elusiveness. While the NFL’s 40-yard dash is the premier test for speed, it may be less valuable in flag football, Brownson said. The perfect flag football player combines that straight-line speed with quickness.
“There’s such an art and a craft and a different style of dance that we do,” Krouch said. “I say tackle football is like hip hop, krump dancing. … We ballet dance. It’s finesse, it’s clean, it’s creative.”
The quarterback served as an offensive coordinator in the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl, the first version of the All-Star game to feature a flag football format. Leading the NFC team to victory, Krouch loved sharing flag football’s unique route combinations. She noticed how the NFL’s best showed their respect for her sport by enthusiastically learning the different nuances.
The Pro Bowl experience was one of many surreal moments for Krouch in her nearly two-decade career of playing flag football. From playing in a local league, the 44-year-old has become a multi-time gold medalist. She never thought this sport she sometimes teaches in her elementary physical education classes could become this big.
U.S. defensive back Laneah Bryan, left, tries to pull a flag off an Australian player during the USA Football Summer Series on Sunday.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
The announcement that flag football would officially debut in the 2028 Olympics brought it to even greater heights. No question Krouch wants to play in the Games.
But the competition at tryouts every year gets 10 times harder, two-time national team member Ashlea Klam said. The 19-year-old plays flag football on a scholarship for NAIA-level Keiser University and recognizes no one is guaranteed a spot each year as the talent pool grows. It will be even more difficult to make the 10-person Olympic roster.
As each year’s tryouts get more competitive, Doucette sees his hope for the sport coming true. He knows the better prospects are a sign that more people are paying attention to flag football. If in three years at BMO Stadium, the eyes are fixated on another quarterback leading the United States at the Olympics, Doucette will consider that still mission accomplished.
“No matter if I’m a part of the team or not, I will still be around the game,” Doucette said. “That’s my goal is still to be there, in general, no matter if I’m playing or watching.”
NFL team owners approved the participation of NFL players in the 2028 L.A. Olympic flag football competition at the league’s owners meetings on Tuesday.
The resolution permits NFL players currently under contract to try out for flag football, but limits only one player per NFL team to play for each national team participating in the Olympics. An exception was made for each NFL team’s designated international player, who is allowed to play for his home country.
Injury protections and salary cap credit will cover any players injured during flag football activities, and Olympic flag football teams must implement minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces to be eligible to have NFL players on their rosters.
Flag football is one of five new sports in the 2028 Olympics and will make its Olympic debut, along with squash. There are five players per team on the field and each team builds a 10-person roster. The U.S. men’s national team has won five consecutive world championships.
This is a developing story. The Times will have more soon on the NFL’s vote.
Super Bowl champion and Olympic gold medalist? Some NFL players could be at the center of the venn diagram in 2028.
NFL team owners could vote next week at the league’s meetings on whether to allow NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A resolution, announced Thursday, included several possible guidelines as further negotiations continue between the NFL Players Assn., the league, national governing bodies and Olympic authorities.
The proposed resolution would permit players under an NFL contract to try out for a 2028 Olympic flag football team, but limit NFL player participation to no more than one from each NFL team for each national team. In addition, each NFL team’s designated international player can play for his home country.
With injuries a primary concern for the crossover, the proposal adds that any NFL player would have injury protection and salary-cap credit if they are injured while playing Olympic flag football. Olympic flag football teams would have to implement certain minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces for eligible NFL players to participate.
The resolution also calls for a flag football schedule that does not unreasonably conflict with a player’s NFL commitments. The 2028 Olympics are scheduled for July 14, 2028-July 30, 2028. The timing could potentially conflict with the beginning of some training camps, but the flag football competition, which is scheduled to take place at BMO Stadium, will only span about a week of the Games.
Flag football is one of five new sports in the 2028 Olympic program and one of two sports, along with squash, making its Olympic debut. The U.S. men’s flag football team is five-time defending flag football world champions.
NFL owners are “committed to supporting the growth of flag football,” the resolution states.
“The membership believes that participation by NFL players in flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California will support such growth and advance several league interests,” the resolution continues, “including increasing fan and public interest in flag football, expanding the global reach of the NFL, and providing greater opportunities for fan engagement and for our league partners.”
