Newport Harbor Girls' Flag Football Team Ranked No.1 in the Nation

By: Kym Whitney

Girls flag football is an emerging sport both here in Orange County and across the country, and halfway through the first CIF-sanctioned girls’ flag football season,  the Newport Harbor Girls' Flag Football team is ranked number one in the nation by Max Preps. 

Newport Harbor routed Laguna Beach the last week of September with a score of 27-0. It was the team's 12th shutout and 18th victory in 19 games under head coach Jason Guyser who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. Coach Guyser has coached flag football for over a decade.

Coach Guyser refers to flag football as a cross between basketball and tackle football. With 12 of his 14 players being soccer players, they had to work on catching the ball first. The team prides itself on defense, which is evident when looking at the game stats. They have never given up more than two scores in a game.

Guyser was a bit surprised that his team went undefeated in the first half of the season, playing good teams such as Edison, Corona del Mar, and Huntington Beach. The Sunset League is very competitive so to win it all would be a significant accomplishment for Guyser and his players. As of this writing, the team has seven games remaining with the last one on October 23rd against Laguna Beach. 

Unfortunately, while flag football is growing rapidly as a CIF sport, with tournaments and increased participation, there will be no playoffs this year due to the minimum requirement of varsity teams not being met.