Arizona well-represented as flag football world meets in Los Angeles
Logan Stanley
Arizona will be well-represented this week in Los Angeles at the Junior International Cup — a four-day competition designed to bring together flag football players from all over the world — and the USA Football Select Bowl.
There will be 14 athletes from Arizona playing between the girls’ Junior National Team and the Select Teams Tuesday through Friday.
Leading the way on the Under-17 team are Gilbert Campo Verde senior Madison Coger and Chandler Hamilton junior Samaya Taylor-Jenkins, two of the state’s top athletes.
“I think it’s great for the state, everyone getting exposure,” Coger said. “When people think of sports, the first state isn’t Arizona. Having all the Arizona athletes is putting Arizona on the map.”
Coger, a wide receiver, is coming off a monster junior year where she tallied 2,417 yards and 22 touchdowns on 137 receptions. She was named The Arizona Republic’s Offensive Player of the Year in the first season of the sport at the Arizona Interscholastic Association level, helping lead the Coyotes to the 5A state championship title.
Taylor-Jenkins, also a wide receiver, hauled in 23 touchdowns to lead the state to go along with 1,625 yards and 92 receptions. She was named to The Republic’s first-team offense and was a key part of Hamilton’s run to the semifinals of the 6A playoffs.
On the Under-15 national team, Chandler sophomore wide receiver Makayla Martinez is representing the state as a reserve. Martinez was an instant impact player as a freshman with 10 touchdowns and 858 yards on 56 receptions. She was on The Republic’s second-team offense.
This week's event includes international teams. Japan, Canada, Panama and the Mexican states of Coahuila and Nuevo León will be represented at the Junior International Cup, which started in 2021.
Flag football will be an Olympic sport in 2028, when the Summer Games are held in Los Angeles.
“I think it’s been the U.S.’s way of bringing a lot of the countries and the IFAF (International Federation of American Football) together to essentially get to the goal of making it an Olympic sport. And obviously with all of the exposure of flag football that the U.S. and other countries have done the past couple of years, the IOC (International Olympic Committee), has taken notice and we will have the Olympics in ‘28,” said Campo Verde coach Brian Coger, Madison's father.
Madison Coger tried out for the U-13 national team a few years ago but didn’t make it. Only 12 athletes make the active roster to go with six reserves. This year, the incoming senior is one of the starting 12 on the U-17 team.
“I was excited and grateful for the opportunity. I know that I’ve worked really hard to have that opportunity. It was really realizing how everything came together and how the hard work I put in got me that opportunity and that achievement,” she said.
Being a part of the junior national team puts those athletes on a path to the senior national team. And with the Olympics next in line, this is an important week for the future.
As well as Coger, Taylor-Jenkins and Martinez will be representing the state on the national teams. Taylor-Jenkins found out she made the team right after Coger was informed.
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Taylor-Jenkins comes from a football family. Her uncle, David Smith, graduated from Chandler Hamilton as the school’s all-time sacks leader and went on to play at ASU. Taylor-Jenkins started to hyperventilate upon learning she made the 12-person roster. “It was so embarrassing,” she said.
Taylor-Jenkins is one of the team captains for the USA.
“Club season, there are never any big tournaments in Arizona. There’s never any big teams from Arizona,” Taylor-Jenkins said. “It’s always Vegas-based, Florida-based, all that, so knowing that there’s that many (Arizona) girls good enough already to make Select Bowl teams, 14 of us, that’s crazy. There’s probably more that just don’t have the opportunity yet. We’ve always produced great athletes and we’re finally getting recognized.”
Martinez, coming off ACL surgery, is unable to compete at the Junior International Cup. But she still is making the trip to Southern California. She plans to help coach the team and network with coaches and those in the sport.
“Arizona is a good state. We got good players,” Martinez said. “I think our state is one of the best states that has flag football. We’re very competitive. We’re determined. We’re hard-working people. And it just shows that our state and our people, when we come to play, we’re gonna do it.”
Also taking place during the Junior International Cup are the USA Football Select Bowl and The ONE tournament. Hannah Rouse, an Xavier Prep senior, is one of those athletes playing on the U-20 Select Team. The Select Teams are for athletes identified with future national team potential.
Arizona girl's flag football players on the Select Teams (home city or school noted) include: Catarina Maccagnano (U-20, Hamilton), Rylen Bourguet (U-20, Marana), Angelina Harrell (U-20, Canyon View), Malaysia Roebuck (U-20, Marana), Simone Pfitzer (U-20, Verrado), Marlie Phillips (U-16, Hamilton), Amaya Moreno (U-16, Mountain Pointe), Evania Maas (U-14, Phoenix), Isla Collins (U-14, Marana) and Z’yah Wilson (U-12, Yuma).
“It’s huge for the state,” Coger said. “On the national level, we’re seen as further behind — and we kind of are. You got the Florida’s and the Nevada’s, New York, they’ve been doing it for a long time. We’ve been doing it here in Arizona, just not at the same stage. In the last year and a half, all of the club teams in the state have really elevated."
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.