PHOENIX (Oct. 24, 2025) — Arizona has become a proving ground for girls’ flag football, one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Hamilton High School in Chandler is leading the charge, ranked No. 1 in Arizona. The 2024 6A Champion Huskies will face the Casteel High School Colts, from Queen Creek, on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The matchup will be televised as part of Cox’s GAMETIME 44th season of high school sports coverage live at 6 pm on Cox YurView Channel 4 in the Phoenix market and streamed on watch.yurview.com.
The Colts are led by flag football pioneer and coach Rae Black. They are 4-5 this season and will be looking to upset the Huskies in mighty fashion on Hamilton’s home turf. The Huskies vs. Colts game will follow the first game of a double-header at 4 pm on Cox YurView Channel 4, featuring the Perry Pumas vs. Chandler Wolves as they take the gridiron.
By simulcasting both games across 16 states and 26 Cox markets, the company is putting a national spotlight on Arizona’s leadership in the sport as participation surges and new opportunities emerge for female athletes. Girls’ flag football is experiencing explosive growth. From 2019 to 2023, girls’ participation nationwide grew 63%. In Arizona, participation grew from 55 to 102 teams in a single season. The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) officially sanctioned girls’ flag football in 2023.
National Exposure Through an All-Female Announce Team
The Cox YurView broadcast will feature an all-female announce crew: Play-by-play reporter Jody Jackson, one of Arizona’s most recognizable sports journalists known for her coverage of the Diamondbacks and Cardinals; color analyst Kate Longworth, an Emmy award winning professional sports and entertainment reporter; and Danielle Lerner, sideline reporter and Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. Lerner and Longworth also co-host Cox’s Yurview “Arizona Living” show.
“Girls’ flag football is exploding in popularity, and Hamilton is at the heart of that story in Arizona and nationally,” said Jackson. Sideline reporter Longworth adds, “As a female sports
reporter in a male-dominated field, it means a lot to showcase young female athletes who are enjoying sports and thriving.”
Hamilton captured the 2024 6A state championship, finishing with a perfect 17–0 record, the first undefeated season in Arizona girls’ flag football history. This fall, Hamilton is off to another dominant start with an undefeated streak of 12-0, led by sophomore quarterback Marlie Phillips and senior wide receiver Samaya Taylor-Jenkins, a top Olympic flag football prospect. A mix of veteran standouts and emerging young talent has positioned the Huskies for another title run.
On the national stage, the sport is poised for an even bigger leap. Women’s and Men’s Flag football will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently announced plans to launch professional men’s and women’s flag football leagues before then. The NFL sees flag football as a strategic way to engage younger audiences and expand the game globally. Jackson expects female high school flag football standouts will consequently start being offered Division 1, 2, and 3 college scholarships to feed the pipeline.
Longworth notes, “The athletes have been there forever. It’s their time to shine.”
About Cox Communications:
Cox Communications is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through technology. As the largest private broadband company in America, we own network infrastructure that reaches more than 30 states. Our fiber-powered wireline and wireless connections are available to more than 12 million homes and businesses and support advanced cloud and managed IT services nationwide. We’re the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox that is dedicated to empowering others to build a better future for the next generation.
