Flag football season kicks off with triple header at Trailblazer Stadium

LAKEWOOD — Trailblazer Stadium will be the mecca for girls flag football again this season.

A year ago, Mountain Vista edged Arvada West in the Class 5A state title game at Trailblazer Stadium to cap off the inaugural CHSAA-sanctioned season for the quickest growing sport across Colorado.

Flag football returned to Trailblazer Stadium on Saturday with a trio of games to start the Fall 2025 season.

Lakewood defeated Wheat Ridge 69-0 in the first of a triple header at Trailblazer Stadium. Lakewood suffered nine shutout losses a season ago, but were able to turn the tables on Wheat Ridge, who just launched its flag football program this season.

“We are better, but (Wheat Ridge) is a new program,” Lakewood coach Chris Poisson said after the Tigers’ shutout victory. “I have empathy and understanding because we were there last year.”

Lakewood sophomore Laney Gonzales was the defensive star with three interceptions that she returned for touchdowns in the opening half against the Farmers.

“The moments were right,” said Gonzales, who didn’t play as a freshman but was convinced by her friends to join the Tigers’ flag football program this Fall.

Lakewood sophomore quarterback Saylor Slaughter had a nice game with three touchdown passes for the Tigers.

“One day she told me, ‘I can throw.’ She is learning and has a desire to learn,” Poisson said of his sophomore quarterback. “She is a natural athlete. She is coming along quicker than her or I even anticipated.”

The growth of girls flag football had also exploded faster than expected. Jeffco Public Schools will field 13 programs this season. Golden, Standley Lake and Wheat Ridge all added programs this year.

Trailblazer Stadium is set to host nearly 50 regular-season games over the next two months. Trailblazer, along with Jeffco district stadiums — Jeffco Stadium and the North Area Athletic Complex — will host all first, second and quarterfinal playoff games for both 5A and 4A on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Semifinals will be played Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Jeffco and Trailblazer stadiums. Title games for 5A and 4A will be Saturday, Oct. 25, at Trailblazer Stadium.

“As a whole we are deep,” Poisson said of the 5A and 5A Jeffco conferences. “With the history of Jeffco it is great to have depth and be able to host state events to show what we have in this part of the state. It can only be positive for us.”

Chatfield and Arvada West captured state titles during the two pilot seasons in the Fall of 2022 and 2023. Mountain Vista (5A) and Mountain View (4A) won the state championships last year in the first year as a CHSAA-sanctioned sport.

In the second game at Trailblazer Stadium on Saturday, Ralston Valley took care of business with a 42-0 victory over Golden. Senior quarterback Kailyn Korkus threw a pair of first-half touchdowns and ran for a third score in the opening half to give the Mustangs a commanding 26-0 lead at halftime.

Sophomore Shelby Colosimo had a rushing and receiving touchdown before halftime for Ralston Valley. The connection of Korkus to Colosimo early in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 34-0.

The third game featured a rematch of a 4A state semifinal from last season. The Classical Academy — 4A state runner-up — faced off against defending 4A Jeffco League champion Green Mountain.

TCA used a 26-point outburst in the second quarter on the way to a 26-8 victory over the Rams. Junior quarterback Kelsey Peterson had four touchdown passes in the big second quarter for the Titans.

Green Mountain ended the shutout bid midway through the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Savannah Plumley to sophomore Marissa VanGuilder for the Rams’ lone score of the game.