Nordonia faced off against Mount Notre Dame in the championship finale after they defeated Badin in the quarterfinal and Berkshire in the semi-finals. After a hard-fought game, Nordonia was crowned as the inaugural state champions.
"It's surreal," Nordonia head coach Steve Holtz said. "We had a good regular season, so we were pumped for the playoffs and, and our girls came in and in game one we faced adversity. We lost our best wide receiver, so we had to find a way. So, I'm just happy that these girls came together and pulled through at the end."
This first state championship comes on the heels of progress made in July 2025, when OHSAA officially approved girls high school flag football to be a state championship sport – making Ohio the 17th state to sanction girls flag football across the United States.
With the sanctioning, and the first championship tournament, OHSAA is doing its part in providing a sustainable pathway for female athletes to compete at the highest level within their schools – as well as further solidifying the sport's legitimacy and inspiring the next generation of players.
The Browns played an integral in helping obtain the recognition of girls flag football as a varsity sport. They began the implementation of girls flag football in 2021 alongside Northeast Ohio Flag Football, which led to the creation of the first Girls High School Flag Football league in Ohio. Over the last six years, the Browns have played a pivotal role in working towards the sanctioning of girls flag football as a varsity high school sport, growing the number of Northeast Ohio high schools with teams from six in 2021 to 120 in 2026 and over 61 new high schools competing in the Spring 2026 season. A total of 160 high schools fielded a girls flag football team in 2026.
"It's so important because if the Browns don't back this, this doesn't happen or it happens at such a slower pace," Holtz said. "Now there's over 160 teams, I believe, and without the Browns' help and helping us, we wouldn't be here today."