Ohio crowns first official OHSAA Girls Flag Football Champion (PHOTO GALLERY)

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Sykotyk | May 17, 2026

On Saturday, Girls Flag Football took another step. The Nordonia Knights girls flag football team won the OHSAA’s first official state championship in the sport with a 20-19 victory Mt. Notre Dame. Though the big push towards legitimizing and strengthening the sport at the backing of the NFL and its member franchises, this was the first championship tournament organized by Ohio’s high school governing body.

Just as Pennsylvania has had several years of sponsored season by the Steelers or Eagles, 2027 will be Pennsylvania’s first full season as an officially sanctioned sport. In Ohio, that started on Saturday. A one-day, eight-team tournament was hosted in Canton’s well known Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The same host site as the OHSAA’s boys tackle football title games.

Despite the sanctioning, the rules were a compromise from the NFHS rulebook adopted officially. The first six games, two rounds, of the state tournament were held on 53 1/3 long fields with ten yard endzones and just 25 yards wide. The teams consisted of five players a side, rather than the NFHS’s seven player setup. And smaller than the NFHS’s recommended 80×40 yard field. Games consisted of two 20 minute halves with a mostly running clock. Extra points were 1 point from the 5, or 2 points from the 10.

On Saturday at noon, those assembled eight squads were to take the field but a lightning delay pushed things back a half hour. With no classifications, the eight teams advanced to the state tournament from the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals leagues. From the Browns, the Madison Blue Streaks, Berkshire Badgers, Nordonia Knights, and Midview Middies qualified for states. While from the Cincinnati Bengals league advanced the Badin Rams, Mt. Notre Dame Panthers, Princeton Vikings, and St. Ursula Bulldogs.

The quarterfinal round was a hectic and exciting one, as four games took place simultaneously on one full-size football field. On Field One, Madison and Mt. Notre Dame squared off in a close contest, while on Field Three, Berkshire built a solid lead against St. Ursula. Field Two and Field Four saw two low scoring contests. With Nordonia scoring the lone touchdown of their game against Badin. And Field Two hosted Midview coming from behind, down 14-8, scored on a last second TD pass with the conversion, giving them the win, 15-14.

Quarterfinal Scores:
Mt. Notre Dame 26, Madison 20
Midview 15, Princeton 14
Berkshire 34, St. Ursula 19
Nordonia 6, Badin 0

The rain cleared, and the second round consisted of Mt. Notre Dame taking on Midview on Field Two while Nordonia and Berkshire took to Field Three. The smallest public school in the tournament, Berkshire went down 20-6 but made a valiant comeback to tie it, 20-20 late in the game. But disaster struck for Berkshire after Nordonia found the endzone again, making it 26-20. Two consecutive pick sixes in the final minute of the game ended it, 38-20.

Midview trailed Mt. Notre Dame late in the game, down two, and a thrilling sack on 4th down ended their final threat. The Panthers of Mt. Notre Dame ended the contest kneeling out the clock. Giving them a slim, 21-19 victory and spot in the state championship game.

Semifinal Scores:
Nordonia 38, Berkshire 20
Mt. Notre Dame 21, Midview 19

The Championship Game saw the four fields dismantled, and the field setup of fifty yards from the 25 to the 25 along the nearside sideline at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. With cones demarcating the far sideline twenty-five yards aware. Two endzones were marked with cones in lieu of pylons. At 2:45pm, the first official state championship game kicked off.

And with a bang. Nordonia recorded a defensive stop, and scored two quickly touchdowns to go up 14-0. Late in the first half, Mt. Notre Dame scored to cut the lead. But the momentum was shifting. A defensive stop in the endzone held the slim deficit before the Panthers scored to make it 14-13. Another TD gave them the lead late in the game, 19-14. Despite their scoring difficulty, Nordonia answered late in the game one a long TD pass to Ava McLendon gave the Knights the lead they’d not relinquish.

Championship Game
Nordonia 20, Mt. Notre Dame 19

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PHOTOS

QUARTERFINAL AND SEMIFINAL GAME PHOTOS

For more, and larger photos, click HERE.

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