SANTA CRUZ >> One year after flag football was first offered to high school student-athletes in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, the sport continued to see massive growth in 2024.

In the fall, the majority of schools in the Monterey Bay Area fielded teams and they competed for Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and Pacific Coast Athletic League tournament titles in anticipation for the arrival of the inaugural Central Coast Section playoffs in 2025.

Participation increased from 42 teams competing in the CCS in ’23 to 73 teams in ’24.

In a move created partly to lure potential athletes to the sport, the NFL, in collaboration with the RCX Sports Foundation, introduced the International Women’s Flag Football Scholarship Program, which enables recipients to attend a U.S.-based four-year schools that offers women’s flag football as a varsity sport. As of this writing, 16 NAIA schools offer scholarships.

Among them, Simpson University in Redding announced on Dec. 18 that it became the first Northern California university to offer women’s flag football.

Moreover, the sport will debut in the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

So it’s only fitting, given the sport’s growth, that the best of the best high school senior athletes — pioneers of the sport, locally — gather to compete for bragging rights and showcase their next-level skills: The inaugural Central Coast Flag Football All-Star Game, presented by the Reggie Stephens and Gino Panelli foundations, takes place at Santa Cruz High on Sunday at 2 p.m.

“I feel like it’s an incredible honor,” said Izzy Graff, a running back and defensive back for Aptos. “It’s only my second year and we’ll have a big spotlight on the sport.”

The RSF and GPF brass anticipate the event being for more of a celebration, than a just a game. Skills competitions will be held at 1 p.m. A DJ will be on hand, as will a food truck selling tacos. A 50-50 raffle will also be held.

The game will be televised on FOX 35 on Feb. 1 in prime time.

Event promoters are doing their best to build the hype. All middle and high school students with an ID will get in for free.

“I’m honored to be selected to play in this game,” said Scotts Valley Claire Skinner, who will compete for the North. “I think it’s so cool to get to be part of the very first all-star game. It definitely feels like the start of something big, so Im very honored to be one of the first. We’ll also get to show younger athletes what the sport is all about, which I think is super important in growing the sport.”

For those who plan on attending — and witnessing their first flag football game — here’s a CliffsNotes version to help you better understand some of what you’ll be observing.

Like football, touchdowns are worth six points. Unlike football, there’s no punting or kicking.

When teams score, they can go for a one-point conversion from 5 yards out, or a two-point conversion from 10 yards out. Team’s aren’t allowed to run on one-point conversions, but can run or pass on two-point conversions.

Interception returns for touchdowns are worth two points.

Quarterbacks are allowed to run once every four downs. But, when the defense blitzes, a QB scramble doesn’t count as one of the runs.

A quarterback has seven seconds to get rid of the ball. The referee uses an internal clock.

“For the defense to hold seven seconds is a long time,” said North All-Stars coach Frank Galvan, of St. Francis High.

Galvan is coaching the North, but he has seen plenty of teams with players competing for the South, since his Sharks compete in the PCAL.

“Based on my knowledge, the girls seem to be pretty athletic and have a lot of talent, so they’re pretty good,” he said.

Coaches from both sides are expecting a high scoring affair. Unlike the regular season, when 14 players — seven of offense, seven on defense — compete on a 40-by-80-yard field, the All-Star game will be played on a 100-yard field. It’s not only 20 yards longer, but 13.3 yards wider.

“I believe it’s going to be very offensive,” Galvan said. “It’s a 100-yard field as opposed to 40-by-80, with the same number of players.”

That means plenty of room to run wild.

“It’s gonna make the All-Star game more exciting,” Graff said of the new rules. “There’s going to be more opportunities to score. And we’re going to be able to run into an actual end zone. During the regular season, end zones were marked by cones. It’s going to me so much more exciting and cool.”

Another massive difference that players and fans might notice: Players will be allowed to spin during the All-Star game, a no-no during regular season.

Games also featured 24-minute halves in the regular season, but 30-minute halves will take place for the All-Star game.

“I think that the rule changes are going to give us the opportunity to really demonstrate our athleticism,” said Skinner, a receiver and defensive end. “During the season it had bothered me that we don’t use the full 100-yards, so it’s exciting now to use the full field and real end zones.”

The North has just one quarterback on its roster, Watsonville’s Fernanda Lazo, but the South has three — Alisal’s Jasmine Estrada, Palma’s Allison Guerra, and Salinas’ Emily Aguilar — so expect some play-calling trickery.

Guerra was the PCAL’s Mission Division Offensive Player of the Year, and Hollister’s Jasayla Mariscal, the PCAL Gabilan Division Offensive POY, is also competing for the South.

“We’re looking pretty good,” said South coach Jose Perez, who also coaches at Hollister. “We’re solid on both sides of the ball. This is the best of the best. … I’ve coached a long time, rec girls and powder puff, and some of the girls, they catch better than the boys.”

Not only will Graff and Skinner, co-MVPs of the SCCAL, suit up for the North, so will Soquel’s Trinity Wilson, the Offensive POY, and others poised to show out.

“We look really good in practice,” Graff said. “The girls are all playing at a high level, and the intensity is through the roof.”

But, unlike football, when the game ends, players no longer want to rip their opponent’s heads off. (The same sportsmanship was apparent when the CCS held its first girls wrestling championships in 2010, and it still remains.)

“It’s not as bad as the boys,” Perez said. “Outside the lines, they’re friends. They stay and exchange numbers. Between the lines, it’s still ‘Get out of my way.’”