TACOMA, Wash. – Kate Schramm had a hunch she was in for something special Saturday.

It wasn’t just because her Woodinville High School girls flag football team performed like one of the best programs all winter. It was attributed to something greater.

“At Woodinville, we have a motto – ‘One Falcon, One Family!'” Schramm said. “And I’ve seen so many sports happen … and all of their teams are about culture, and it leads to a full-family atmosphere.”

It also had led to great athletic success across the board – and the Falcons added to that Saturday by winning the state girls flag football championship at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

In a best-of-three championship game against Capital, the Falcons won the first (30-20), lost the second (7-0) but clinched the decisive third – 14-7.

And that final game was decided on the Falcons’ fourth-and-goal defensive stand when Luly Thaman picked off Capital quarterback Carli Cockrell on a throwback pass with 1:27 remaining, and the Falcons ran out the clcok to sew up the crown.

“(That final game) could have gone either way,” Schramm said. “But we were in the right spot. Those girls know what to do. And all season long, the defense has saved us.”

As the eight teams showed up Saturday morning to play what is expected to be the final unofficial state championship in this growing sport – a WIAA amendment to add girls flag football as a sanctioned sport starting in 2025-26 is up for assembly vote this spring – the difference with the Falcons was their big-play capability.

Sophomore running back Kai Brinkley scored on a long pass in the first game – and her 17-yard touchdown gallop with 3:45 to go was the game-winner in the final game. And Thaman and Lauren Tanner as tall perimeter targets on both sides were difference makers.

“We all know we have trust in each other in that we can make those big plays when needed, even if we are down,” Tanner said.

As this sport continues to gain traction – 83 schools played flag football this season – one of the heartening aspects of Saturday is what Capital accomplished as the only new program in the state-tournament field.

The Cougars edged 4A KingCo power Mount Si in the first game, then knocked off North Region champion Inglemoor in the semifinals. And they pushed Woodinville to the limit in the finals.

“This is huge,” Capital coach Tristan Redman said. “Being second in state, we’re the best sports program in the school right now. I am sure there will be a lot of girls coming out next year excited and ready, and especially the returning ones will be hungry to win the title.”

FIVE OBSERVATIONS

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