2026 GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL PREVIEW

By Ramon Scott
Updated: August 12, 2026

Granite Hills' Emily Fong. / Vic Marano

2026 GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL

2026 EAST COUNTY GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Experience, emerging stars set stage for another big season

EastCountySports.com staff report

The growth of girls flag football has been fast. The growth of the talent playing it might be even faster.

As the 2026 high school season gets underway, programs throughout East County are no longer simply learning a relatively new varsity sport. Teams are developing established systems, returning experienced quarterbacks and building rosters filled with athletes who have already accumulated multiple seasons of varsity experience.

And there should be plenty of competition for local supremacy.

Grossmont must replace some extraordinary production from its graduating class.

Steele Canyon lost several of the offensive players who powered last year’s team but returns one of the area’s most disruptive defenders.

Granite Hills may have one of the more intriguing collections of returning skill players in the area.

Patrick Henry possesses a young core that could make the Patriots a factor beyond the immediate East County landscape.

Helix, El Capitan, Santana, Ramona and El Cajon Valley all have significant potential returning production as well.

There are also newcomers. Christian and Mountain Empire are launching programs, while other teams to watch include Poway and Morse, along with Patrick Henry and Canyon Hills.

Here is a look at the teams we’ll be following in 2026.

GROSSMONT

There may not be a more fascinating reload in the area.

Grossmont was among the San Diego Section’s stronger teams last season and finished behind Steele Canyon in the Grossmont Hills race. But some of the Foothillers’ most spectacular production departed with graduation.

Senior Saraya Roope returns after averaging 29.4 receiving yards per game with six touchdown catches last season, while junior Mariyah Gibbs accounted for 10 total touchdowns, including six rushing, and recorded 19 sacks.

Senior Emma Hernandez could be particularly important defensively after an enormous junior season in which she recorded 29 sacks and 26 flag pulls for loss.

The secondary retains senior Ari Simpson, who averaged 5.2 flag pulls per game, and senior Leah Garcia, who intercepted five passes.

That’s plenty of defensive production returning.

The obvious question is quarterback.

Grossmont instead may have to replace last year’s production collectively.

The Foothillers nevertheless begin the season as one of the leading teams in the area because there is simply too much returning experience to dismiss.

PATRICK HENRY

Patrick Henry might have the most exciting young nucleus in the area.

If last year’s underclassmen return as expected, Henry has significant firepower.

It begins with Olive Murillo.

As a freshman, Murillo averaged 53.8 receiving yards and 78.6 rushing yards per game and accounted for 20 touchdowns — 12 receiving and six rushing — while also recording 12 sacks.

That’s remarkable production for a ninth-grader.

She wasn’t alone.

Mia Ng, then a sophomore, averaged 34.5 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns.

Defensively, Addison Bauch recorded 25 sacks and 27 flag pulls for loss as a freshman. Piper McGlenn averaged 7.6 flag pulls per game and intercepted six passes as a sophomore, while freshman Tayte Miller had five interceptions.

The Patriots also had three junior quarterbacks contribute last season. Sivan Benami completed 66.2 percent of her passes and threw 23 touchdowns, Whitley Swain completed 62.6 percent with 10 TD passes, and Lexi Raymond completed 61.1 percent.

The Patriots finished among the stronger San Diego Section programs a year ago, and the age of many of their 2025 contributors suggests their window could be opening rather than closing.

STEELE CANYON

Few teams face a more dramatic changing of the guard offensively.

Kaliani Ewing, Ily Barclay, Laveen Hussein and Kailey Fuller were seniors last season. Ewing alone averaged 71 receiving yards and 46.1 rushing yards per game and accounted for 31 touchdowns.

But Steele Canyon’s defense could still be terrifying.

The reason is Lilah Black.

Black recorded an astonishing 58 sacks, 68 flag pulls for loss and 55 quarterback hurries as a freshman. She’s now a sophomore.

Senior Elisha Lewis also returns after leading the Cougars with eight interceptions while averaging 6.5 flag pulls per game. Senior Evie Allison intercepted six passes, and senior Adanya Huston had three.

The offensive rebuild has at least one experienced quarterback available in senior Kallan Shaw, who threw 12 touchdown passes last season.

That’s the central Steele Canyon storyline: a proven defense surrounding an offense that must identify its next generation of playmakers.

GRANITE HILLS

Granite Hills might be the team that could be expected to rise above preseason expectations.

And a lot of it begins at quarterback.

Granite Hills has a potentially valuable two-quarterback combination with juniors Taylor Nash and Emily Fong.

Nash completed 61.3 percent of her passes last season with seven touchdown passes while averaging 20.3 rushing yards per game. Fong completed 57.6 percent, threw five TD passes and added four rushing touchdowns.

Junior receiver Iliana Cruse is another significant returner after leading the Eagles with five receiving touchdowns last season while averaging 49.7 receiving yards per game.

Senior Brooklyn Spencer led Granite Hills at 38.5 rushing yards per game.

There are potential playmakers on defense, too. Senior Trinity Herrin intercepted eight passes last season, senior Gabby Connor averaged 4.8 flag pulls per game, and junior Cashlynn McGrath averaged 4.4 and intercepted two passes.

Granite Hills defeated Scripps Ranch 31-25 in the opening round of the 2025 Division II playoffs after finishing its regular season with a 27-32 loss to Grossmont.

Granite Hills is one of the preseason breakout candidates.

HELIX

Helix’s potential returning production is substantial.

Kaiya Merlo was only a junior when she averaged 65.6 receiving yards per game, caught 14 touchdown passes, and intercepted eight passes. She also threw 20 touchdown passes.

Devin Gideon accounted for 15 touchdowns as a junior.

Quarterback Lillianna Benabdeljalil threw 33 touchdown passes, completed 62.4 percent of her attempts and was also a junior.

Defensively, Katherine Hernandez Bahena recorded 12 sacks as a junior, while Samaya Webb Horsley averaged five flag pulls per game.

That’s enough eligible returning production to make Helix dangerous.

Granite Hills beat Helix 19-13 late last season.

EL CAPITAN

Few teams have a clearer transition at quarterback.

There is considerable returning talent surrounding whoever steps in at quarterback.

Senior Gabriella Jackson averaged 53.9 receiving yards and 19.7 rushing yards per game last season while accounting for 10 touchdowns.

Junior Mikaela Valencia averaged 39.4 receiving yards.

Junior Kennedy O’Neil caught eight touchdown passes.

And junior Addison Higuera, who served as Frazier’s backup, is back after throwing a touchdown and rushing for four more last season.

Defensively, El Capitan could be particularly dangerous.

Senior linebacker Audra Guillory recorded a staggering 51 sacks last season. Senior Lynette Casarrubias intercepted 10 passes, while senior Brihanna Rivera averaged 4.5 flag pulls per game.

Junior Lily Murphy and junior Alina Torrance-Guignard each recorded 10 sacks.

There is too much proven defensive production here to overlook.

If El Capitan finds its next quarterback, the Vaqueros could rise quickly.

RAMONA

Ramona is another team whose roster status makes its preseason projection difficult.

But if its eligible returners are back, the Bulldogs could have one of the area’s more experienced offensive groups.

Holley Hoffman threw 25 touchdown passes last season while completing 55.8 percent of her attempts and adding five rushing touchdowns.

Her three leading potential targets were all juniors.

Kynzie King averaged 43.7 receiving yards and scored 10 total touchdowns. Remingtyn Bryant averaged 38.8 receiving yards with nine total touchdowns. Krystian Pierre averaged 26.8 receiving yards and led Ramona at 10.1 rushing yards per game.

They were just as productive defensively.

Bryant intercepted 12 passes, King had nine, and Pierre recorded nine sacks.

That is potentially a tremendous amount of two-way production coming back.

The Bulldogs can become a team capable of climbing the rankings this season

WEST HILLS

Alexis Nelson was West Hills’ leading offensive weapon as a junior, averaging 53.1 receiving yards and 39.5 rushing yards per game while accounting for 15 touchdowns.

Kiara Rabaya produced seven touchdowns as a sophomore.

The defense potentially returns Arabella Morena, Janelle Ayala and Shelby Husted, who combined for 28 sacks last season.

The quarterback situation is wide open but interesting.

Sophomore Kharissa Cepeda led West Hills with a 57.7 completion percentage last season and six TD passes, while sophomore Jaedyn Rodriguez also threw four.

There is enough potential returning production for West Hills to become dangerous.

SANTANA

Cameron Udvarhelyi threw 44 touchdown passes last season, completed 61.8 percent of her attempts and rushed for nine touchdowns as a junior.

That’s one of the most important potential returning quarterbacks anywhere in the area.

And some of her young targets could be back.

Paityn Miller caught seven touchdown passes as a freshman, while Khloe Vickery averaged 46.4 receiving yards per game and scored six total touchdowns as a freshman.

Gabby Sneddon intercepted seven passes as a junior and Brynn Warren had six as a sophomore.

EL CAJON VALLEY

Don’t overlook the Braves.

El Cajon Valley has perhaps the most intriguing potential two-player combination outside the teams at the top of our rankings.

McKinley Morgan was extraordinary as a junior.

Morgan averaged 84.5 receiving yards and 42.9 rushing yards per game, scored 29 total touchdowns, intercepted 12 passes and averaged 5.3 flag pulls per game.

Then there’s Kaylanii Moore, who was only a sophomore.

Moore averaged 46.8 receiving yards and 50.9 rushing yards, accounted for 15 touchdowns and intercepted 10 passes.

Together: 44 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

Senior quarterback Onna-Marie Miller graduated after throwing 25 touchdown passes while completing 70.9 percent, so finding a quarterback is ECV’s obvious priority.

But if Morgan and Moore are confirmed on the 2026 roster, the new quarterback could inherit two exceptional playmakers.

Potential senior Annet Nyirachiza also recorded 17 sacks last season.

This is a team we’re watching closely.

VALHALLA

Valhalla enters the season with considerably more unknowns than most of its local rivals.

There may be talent on the Norsemen roster, but for now, however, the Norsemen have to show their improvement on the field.

CANYON HILLS

Early results will tell if the Rattlers program is going to be competitive this season, otherwise, it will be a growing experience.

MORSE

Senior quarterback Reylyn Sakamto, senior receiver Shariyah Hollingsworth and junior running back Milani Duckett are the team’s captains.

Junior Destiny Edwards gives Morse another listed running back, while sophomore Talia Polite is designated as an athlete.

Sakamto’s presence gives Morse an identified senior quarterback around whom the offense can be constructed.

MONTE VISTA

The Monarchs will get their opportunity to establish their place on the field.

POWAY

Poway’s opening games will effectively become the scouting report for the Titans for this season.

CHRISTIAN

Christian is a first-year program, making the Patriots one of the genuine wild cards of the season.

MOUNTAIN EMPIRE

Mountain Empire joins the flag football landscape for the first time.

(Some players mentioned may not be returning to their current teams. Preseason information was incomplete due to a lack of roster and statistical information. East County Sports will be expanding its coverage area of teams for girls flag football this season.)

SCORES

Tuesday, Aug. 11

Cathedral Catholic 27, Grossmont 6
La Costa Canyon 14, Steele Canyon 6
El Capitan 2, Eastlake 0 (forfeit)