Park City girls flag football program builds momentum ahead of playoffs

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City High School’s girls flag football program is heading into the postseason undefeated at the varsity level, following a 37-0 victory during the team’s only home game of the season Monday at Dozier Field.

The Park City Black varsity team and the Red team both won their games Oct. 12, drawing great community support despite the rainy weather. PCHS cheerleaders brought energy to the sidelines, while athletes from other Miner sports came out to support the players.

For a program that began just last year, the evening offered a glimpse of how quickly girls’ flag football has taken hold in Park City, even as the sport remains unsanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association.

A growing sport finds a foothold in Park City

The program launched in 2025 with about 30 players on two teams, competing in the first season of a statewide high school flag football league. This year, over 50 girls came to tryouts, which allowed the coaching staff to create a developmental team for eighth-graders and freshmen, a Red team, and a varsity Black team. All three compete on a varsity schedule, Coach Brandon Heaney said.

The statewide league has also expanded, growing from 10 teams in its inaugural season to 20 this year.

Heaney, a former BYU football player who played cornerback from 2001 to 2004, helped start the program after his daughter developed an interest in flag football. With no sanctioned high school pathway for girls to continue playing the sport in Utah, he approached Park City High School Athletic Director Jamie Sheets about launching a team.

His daughter, now a freshman, had played flag football through Basin Recreation as a younger student but had limited opportunities to continue as she got older.

Since then, Heaney said, the program has focused on creating a welcoming environment where players can develop their skills while building confidence and relationships.

The team’s four guiding values are love, grit, courage, and ownership. Its broader mission is to build character, develop talent, and prepare players for life beyond high school.

“The girls are just like sponges,” Heaney said. “It’s just been inspiring to watch them come to practice every day and learn and grow and want to get better.”

The program is run by seven volunteer coaches, most of whom have daughters on the teams. Heaney said Park City High School administrators have also been supportive, providing access to facilities and helping the program establish itself despite construction at Dozier Field limiting home-game opportunities this season.

For players, lessons extend beyond the game

For team captain Savannah Ramsey, a junior who joined the program when it began last year, flag football has offered both a new athletic challenge and lessons that extend beyond the field.

Ramsey said she initially wanted to play because she had enjoyed flag football as a younger student. Friends from lacrosse were also interested, and they decided to join together.

Taking on the quarterback position brought a different challenge. Because each play begins with the quarterback, Ramsey said, mistakes could feel especially noticeable.

“Over the past two seasons I have had to learn how to move on and just focus on the play in front of me and not getting in my head,” Ramsey said.

That mindset, she said, has helped her in other sports and in everyday life by teaching her how to handle mistakes without dwelling on them.

Jessica Lerner, a mother of one of the players, said the program has helped her daughter grow in confidence, teamwork and grit.

“Playing alongside athletes from many different sports programs has been unifying, unlike any other team experience she’s had,” Lerner said. “They’re unstoppable on and off the field.”

Lerner credited Heaney with helping make the experience possible, saying he believes in the players and the program.

As the Black team prepares for the playoffs, Ramsey said she is excited to show the rest of the state what the players have been working toward since the summer. She also hopes to help build the program while she is still at Park City High School and see flag football eventually become a sanctioned high school sport in Utah.

“I think sports are so important for teen development mentally, physically, and socially, and flag football does such a good job of doing that,” Ramsey said.

Heaney said he expects the sport to continue growing as more girls get the opportunity to play and develop their skills. With three teams already in Park City, he said, future growth will depend in part on whether the program can recruit enough volunteer coaches.

The league’s playoffs are scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 26 and run through Nov. 13. All three Park City teams are expected to have at least one postseason game.

For the players, the postseason is another opportunity to compete. For the program, it is also a chance to demonstrate what girls’ flag football can look like in Park City — and help build a path for the athletes who come next.