High school girls flag football: Revealing the teams competing in the inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown

Eighteen of the nation's top teams featuring elite talent will compete on a national stage in September.

By
Jun 17, 2026, 12:00pm
The inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown will be held Sept. 11-12 in San Diego, Calif., featuring some of the nation's top high school girls teams from multiple states.

MaxPreps and iFlag are partnering to launch the two-part national invitational tournament designed to establish the first rankings-backed, media-scaled championship stage for high school flag football. The September tournament will take place at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista with a second East Coast event planned for Spring 2027.

Eighteen elite teams, featuring some of the top talent in the nation, will compete in pool play Friday, Sept. 11, and then bracket play Saturday, Sept. 12. That includes the top two teams in the country at the end of the fall 2025 season, JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Central (Phenix City, Ala.). Other participating programs to finish inside the national top 10 last fall included Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) and Huntington Beach (Calif.).

Several representatives of Team USA's 15U and 17U rosters are expected to be in action, including Makena Cook, who announced she was transferring to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) from Orange Lutheran in May, Ava Irwin, Kate Meier and Tessa Russell of JSerra Catholic. The Vincent Memorial (Calexico, Calif.) record-setting quarterback-receiver duo of Azul Trujillo and Jessica Manriquez, which shattered single-season passing and receiving records in 2025, are also expected to be on display. That pair will represent Team Mexico in international play in June.

MaxPreps plans to livestream the Flag Football Showdown via the NFHS Network. More details on how to watch will be released in advance of the event.

Read on for a full list of teams set to take the field in the inaugural MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown as well as a list of the players to watch.
GRAPHIC: Ryan Escobar
GRAPHIC: Ryan Escobar
MaxPreps Flag Football Showdown
Date: Sept. 11-12, 2026
Location: Chula Vista Elite Athletic Training Center

Participating teams

2025–26 record: 20-1, San Diego Section Division 1 semifinalist
Final fall rankings: No. 17 state, No. 48 national

2025–26 record: 25-3, Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinalist
Final fall rankings: No. 5 state, No. 16 national

Carlsbad (Calif.)
2025–26 record: 20-6, San Diego Section Division 1 playoffs
Final fall rankings: No. 26 state, No. 67 national

2025–26 record: 20-0, Class 6A-7A state champions
Final fall rankings: No. 1 state, No. 2 national

2025–26 record: 13-8, San Diego Section Division 2 playoffs
Final fall rankings: No. 222 state, No. 482 national

2025–26 record: 11-2, MHSA state champions

2025–26 record: 25-2, Southern Section Division 1 semifinalist
Final fall rankings: No. 3 state, No. 9 national

2025–26 record: 28-0, Southern Section Division 1 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 1 state, No. 1 national

2025–26 record: 24-5, Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 7 state, No. 20 national

Merced (Calif.)
2025–26 record: 25-4, Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 13 state, No. 34 national

2025–26 record: 23-3, Southern Section playoffs
Final fall rankings: No. 6 state, No. 19 national

2025–26 record: 24-3, Southern Section Division 1 runner-up
Final fall rankings: No. 2 state, No. 7 national

2025–26 record: 13-10, San Diego Section Division 2 semifinalist
Final fall rankings: No. 88 state, No. 192 national

2025–26 record: 18-6, North Coast Section Division 1 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 12 state, No. 31 national

2025–26 record: First season will be in 2026-27

Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.)
2025–26 record: 19-10, San Diego Section Division 1 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 11 state, No. 30 national

2025–26 record: 23-6, San Diego Section Division 2 champions
Final fall rankings: No. 29 state, No. 75 national

2025–26 record: 21-5, Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 runner-up
Final fall rankings: No. 19 state, No. 55 national

Players to watch

Makena Cook, Sierra Canyon
2025 stats: 7,083 passing yards, 112 touchdowns, 313 rushing yards
Noteworthy: Team USA member and arguably the top QB in the country heading into the 2026-27 season. Transferred from Orange Lutheran to Sierra Canyon.

Savanna Hill, McClatchy
2025 stats: 2,400 receiving and rushing yards, 39 touchdowns, 144 flag pulls, 74 sacks, 1 interception
Noteworthy: The only player in the country in 2025 with at least 2,000 receiving yards on offense and more than 70 sacks on defense.

Ava Irwin, JSerra Catholic
2025 stats: 1,903 receiving yards, 27 touchdowns, 94 flag pulls, 15 interceptions
Noteworthy: Irwin is a member of Team USA and was the 2025 MaxPreps California Freshman of the Year.

Antonia Lejarde, Merced
2025 stats: 8,131 total yards, 128 touchdowns
Noteworthy: Lejarde is the only returning player in the country who had more than 7,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in 2025.

Jessica Manriquez, Vincent Memorial
2025 stats: 3,702 receiving yards, 43 touchdowns, 114 flag pulls, 17 interceptions
Noteworthy: Broke records for receptions and receiving yards for the section champs in 2025 and is a member of Team Mexico.

Kate Meier, JSerra Catholic
2025 stats: 3,844 total yards, 63 touchdowns
Noteworthy: Member of Team USA's 17U squad after leading the top-ranked Lions to a 28-0 record.

Tessa Russell, JSerra Catholic
2025 stats: 1,536 receiving yards, 20 touchdowns, 104 flag pulls, 19 interceptions
Noteworthy: One of three players from JSerra Catholic set to represent Team USA next month.

Savannah Sevier, Central
2025 stats: 1,596 receiving yards, 43 touchdowns, 63 flag pulls
Noteworthy: Has gone 39-0 as a varsity starter and helped Central to the last two state titles during its recent championship three-peat.

Roxie Shaia, Huntington Beach
2025 stats: 6,882 total yards, 91 touchdowns
Noteworthy: Shaia is one of only three returning players in the country to have more than 6,500 passing yards with at least a 70 percent completion rate.

Azul Trujillo, Vincent Memorial 
2025 stats: 9,804 total yards, 120 touchdowns, 77.6 percent completion rate
Noteworthy: Trujillo broke the national record for passing yards in a season in 2025 and will be a member of Team Mexico in June. She was the 2025 California Sophomore of the Year.

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