Under the lights at InfoCision Stadium at The University of Akron, Madison High School was crowned the champion of the fifth annual Browns Girls High School Flag Football Championship Tournament.
They hoisted the trophy above their heads in celebration, with parents and fans cheering for the athletes and their accomplishment of claiming the title and earning a spot in the inaugural OHSAA Girls High School Flag Football State Championship.
"It was absolutely surreal," Kennedy Ross, a senior at Madison, said. "I knew we could do it from the start, honestly, I knew we had it in us. We have some great athletes on the team. We have some great connections with each other and overall, we're just a good team."
Sixteen teams faced off in the single-elimination tournament, and the top four teams — which include Berkshire, Nordonia, Madison and Midview — will head to the inaugural OHSAA Girls High School Flag Football State Championship tournament, set for May 16 at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. Those four teams, along with the top four teams from the Cincinnati Bengals divisions, will compete for the Girls High School Flag Football State Championship title.
In July 2025, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) officially approved girls high school flag football to be a state championship sport, making Ohio the 17th state to sanction girls flag football across the United States.
The Browns began the implementation of girls flag football in 2021 alongside Northeast Ohio Flag Football, which led to the creation of the first Girls High School Flag Football league in Ohio. Over the last five years, the Browns have played a pivotal role in working towards the sanctioning of girls flag football as a varsity high school sport, growing the number of Northeast Ohio high schools with teams from six in 2021 to 120 in 2026 and over 61 new high schools competing in the Spring 2026 season.
"I'm honestly super happy that the Browns are doing something like this, just to see that they're taking part in the community and with all the girls in Ohio, I think it's honestly great," Kennedy Ross said. "The first camp that I went to, it was honestly so great just to see how much opportunity that they're giving these girls, and it's going to grow a lot. And it already has within the past few years, and I'm excited to see where it goes."
Kennedy Ross spearheaded the process of starting the team at Madison after seeing USA girls youth flag football on TV with her dad. She remembered playing flag football during her childhood and wanted to return to the sport. She had heard of other surrounding schools starting teams through the Browns' program, and with the help of her dad, started the team at Madison during her sophomore year.
Over the past three years, their team has continued to grow. What started out their first year as a small group of athletes interested in trying a new sport turned into a group that has developed as a team and created a future for themselves in the game. Kennedy Ross is continuing her flag football career at Heidelberg University in Ohio.
They have continued on that upward trajectory this season, claiming the title for the Browns Girls High School Flag Football Championship Tournament this season. They will now have the chance to play for the inaugural OHSAA the Girls High School Flag Football State Championship title and close out the season on a high note.
"The girls are so excited and again just to see the growth that will come from this," Madison coach Jay Ross said. "We got involved in flag football at Madison because we watched a championship game three years ago. So, there may be some people that see a championship game Saturday or tonight and want to play or get it at their school, and it's just going to continue to grow and explode."
For more information on the state championship, follow Browns Give Back on Instagram @BrownsGiveBack.
