The Bears will host the Illinois Girls Flag Football State Championship again this year. The team announced on Thursday that the tournament will take place this Saturday and Sunday at Halas Hall.
Nine schools from across the state will compete for the state title:
–Glenbrook South High School (Central Suburban League)
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–Guilford High School (Northern Illinois League)
–Lane Tech High School (Chicago Public League)
–Phillips High School (Chicago Public League)
–Proviso East High School (West Suburban Silver League)
NFL
–Resurrection College Prep (Chicago Private Schools League)
–Stagg High School (South Suburban League)
–Stevenson High School (Lake County League)
–Willowbrook High School (West Suburban Gold League)
Each team is the champion of their respective league.
The tournament starts on Saturday with the quarterfinals and ends on Sunday with the semifinals, third-place game and the championship game.
There will be a flag football legend in the stands, too. Vanita Krouch, the quarterback of the USA national team and a three-time International Flag Football gold medalist, will present the tournament awards.
The Bears have championed girls flag football close to home and across the globe for several years. They collaborated with Chicago Public Schools to launch a girls flag football league in 2021 with 22 teams. This year, the league fielded 100 teams, and the Bears hope the sport becomes IHSA sanctioned in 2024.
The team has also helped bring flag football to the world. They collaborated with the Jets to launch the first-ever girls flag football league in the UK, and now they’re looking to do the same in Spain. They’re also excited to see flag football in the Olympics for the first time when the games come to Los Angeles in 2028.
“I love that, I really do,” said head coach Matt Eberflus earlier this month. “I think when you have flag football, you’re getting more involved in the game of football and it’s just growing the game. I think that’s awesome. It’s great and that’s going to be cool to watch.”
This is the second time the Bears will host a girls flag football state championship. Last year, Willowbrook beat Taft for the crown.