PAX Flag Football Highlights
By: Natalia Ennis
In Maryland, the high school Girls Flag Football program was started by the Baltimore Ravens in 2023 as a pilot program that partnered with local school systems. The Ravens Girls Flag Football pilot program started with 10 schools in Frederick County and has now grown to over 92 schools across 7 counties. Calvert County and Charles County have both joined the NFL Flag football program and SMAC ran its first season this fall.
At Patuxent High School, our Girls Flag Football program began in March of 2025 when Coach Lauren Rivers offered to sponsor our team at the CCPS Countywide Flag Football Powder Puff Tournament. A group of 22 girl players, 8 boy coaches, 2 managers and Coach Rivers attended the event. By May of 2025, the Baltimore Ravens had announced their partnership with SMAC and Girls Flag Football arrived as an option for female athletes at all four Calvert County High Schools.
Over the Summer, Head Coach Rivers held conditioning and training days alongside Coach Mac Robinson who also owns and coaches DoggWLD Flag Football. The team started with 3 driven athletes - Shania Mason, Jasmin Brown and Laura-Fay Beaulieu, and has grew to a full blown committed squad.
Patuxent Girls Flag Football celebrated their season opening game by winning against North Point with a score of 14-13. The season opener had the Ravens in attendance with their cheerleaders since it was the first game of the season for our SMAC teams. The team lost a few close games against county rivals Northern and Calvert, but were able to follow up these loses with dominating wins over St. Charles and Westlake. The flag football team ended their season with a valiant effort against Lackey.
The participation of this sport provided our girl athletes with a new opportunity. Freshman A’Lana Wallace expressed, “ Flag football is a lot of fun! It gets you out of the house and you can learn a lot about football.”
Laura-Fay Beaulieu added “I wanted to try something new and meet new people and have fun. Coach Rivers inspired me to play flag, and I ended up enjoying it.”
Coach Mac and Coach Rivers could not be prouder of the young women of PAXNATION who have stepped up to be the founding team of Patuxent High Schools Varsity Girls Flag Football team. It was an amazing first season.
The 2025 PHS Flag Football team at M&T Bank for their game hosted by the Baltimore Ravens.