Barlow girls flag football downs South Salem for Oregon state title
Published 8:18 pm Saturday, May 17, 2025
Move over Barlow High School boys basketball, there’s a new state champion in town.
The Bruins girls flag football team took home the state championship on Saturday, May 17, on their home turf as Barlow played host to the culminating event in the sport’s second season in Oregon.
Barlow entered the 16-team field as the No. 5 seed and defeated No. 12 Tualatin 12-7 in the first round at home on May 15. Then the rest of the tournament came out to Gresham where Barlow and Gresham High School helped host the quarterfinals through the championship game.
No. 5 Barlow took out No. 4 Crook County 21-6 to start the day in the quarters, then survived a tough test from Cinderella No. 16 seed David Douglas 13-7 in the semis to earn a matchup with defending state champion South Salem in the final.
The Bruins used a couple highlight plays from seniors Isabelle Unger and Elizabeth Weber to put up 14 points, meanwhile the rushing ability from sophomore Marlie Williams and timely defensive plays from junior Sandy Hanna gave up only seven points to take home the 14-7 victory.
“It’s so amazing, especially seeing the growth in our team because we played (South Salem) our second game of the season and it definitely didn’t go the same way,” Weber said. “All these girls have never played this sport before, a few of them have never played any sport before. So seeing everybody’s growth and football IQ grow is just amazing.”
Girls flag football was approved to become an “emerging sport” under the OSAA in October 2024, a distinction that provides the organizers and schools with a little more guidance on putting together programs and helping determine rules and regulations in the game.
The 7-on-7 games are played on an 80-yard field and typically take about one hour and 15 minutes. They are played with a running clock, except for stoppage time in the last two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
After a scoreless first quarter, Unger took a handoff from quarterback Ava Gallo running toward the near side of the field before making a fake cut to throw off one Saxon.
Unger kept bouncing it to the outside where she found just enough of a lane to run straight ahead along the boundary and into the end zone.
For flag football, extra points are offered like a two-point conversion with different levels, and the Bruins elected to go for one where Unger caught the pass as well to make it 7-0 Bruins in the second.
That score stayed through halftime, but the Saxons started with the ball to open the second half and scored on their first possession on a 40-yard touchdown pass. A converted 1-point try tied the game at seven quickly.
Barlow went three-and-out after that, but came up with another big stop to get the ball to start the fourth quarter.
At midfield, Gallo lined up a deep toss to Weber streaking down the sideline. The senior receiver had a small window of space behind her defender, and that’s exactly where the ball landed for the reception.
With open field in front of her, Weber ran the rest of the way for the TD and the Bruins converted the 1-pointer to take a 14-7 lead with less than eight minutes to go.
“Perfect pass and a really great catch on the run too,” Barlow head coach Neil Collins said. “They both came through right at the right moment, that was by far the play of the game.”
“South Salem was cheering so I could barely hear the play. I was talking to the girl next to me and I was like, ‘So what are we doing?’ And she was like, ‘You’re running,’” Weber said. “I just ran and I knew (Gallo) could throw that far so I just kept going.”
A Sandy Hanna interception plus a sack on fourth down by Julia Edwards helped the Bruins run out the rest of the clock and secure the state title in their second season of having a team.
For Weber, who also plays tennis in the spring, the chance to learn the game of football has been a fun and welcomed addition to her already busy schedule.
“I play so many sports, but getting to be in this new sport is so much fun, such great people and it’s fun to learn because I actually didn’t know much about football until I started playing last year,” Weber said.
“They love it, and the ones that play multiple sports say they like this one,” Collins said. “Super positive, great chemistry in this group. It’s a ton of fun to coach them and really happy for them.”
The sport of girls flag football increased from 32 teams this year to 47, which included the likes of Barlow’s semifinal opponent in David Douglas playing for the first time.
Meanwhile a program in Barlow had so many girls come out that they were able to field a JV team alongside varsity, something that isn’t uncommon around the programs on board with the sport.
And if the numbers aren’t proof enough, the celebration from the Bruins and the tears from those that feel just short show that there is care for the sport.
“We had a few returners, I think we had three or four girls that were starters last year that came back, but besides that, a lot of them were pretty new,” Weber said. “Everybody is super fun, welcoming and really excited about the sport. And I know a ton of them are so excited to come play next year.”
