Scrambling to her right and away from the rush, Ava Ortman had one play and one throw for a championship. And she had Mya Smith.
Smith's leaping grab just inside the end zone line and the pylon propelled the Los Angeles Seahawks (Seattle Seahawks) to a 15-14 overtime win over the Austin Texans (Houston Texans) in the Girls' High School NFL FLAG Championship on Sunday in Westfield, Indiana.
The dramatic throw, catch and triumph culminated the third annual NFL FLAG Championships, which saw the Ocala Bucs (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and tournament MVP Drake Eason defeat the New York City Ravens (Baltimore Ravens), 33-21, earlier in the day for the Boys' Under-14 division title.
Eason got the Bucs rolling early, throwing a touchdown to Kingstyn Henderson to open the scoring before a bomb to Duke Simpkins led to a 15-0 lead. Two pick-sixes by the Bucs led to an insurmountable 33-13 advantage and the eventual impressive championship win.
In the girls' final, the Seahawks and Texans, the defending champions, went back and forth in an instant classic.
In a sign of greatness to come, Ortman hit Smith to open the scoring, before the Texans' Emery Beckett connected with Zahra Hill for the response. Austin's Kaitlyn Reynolds followed a sensational pass breakup on defense with a go-ahead TD catch on offense. Ortman and Smith simply wouldn't be denied, though. Ortman spotted Smith over the middle with a heave just over the goal line to tie it up, leading to the eventual two-point game-winner after the Texans went back up with a one-pointer.
The tournaments took place from Thursday through Sunday at the Droplight Grand Sports Campus, marking the first time the event has been held in an NFL club market. Teams representing all 32 NFL franchises participated in addition to 15 international squads.
On Friday, finalists for the 2026 NFL Flag Player of the Year Award were announced for and .
Saturday's action saw Mexico claim the International U15 Girls' Championship and Canada win the International U15 Co-Ed Championship.
Also on Saturday, the CK Divas won the High School Girls' B Bracket Championship and MIA FLAG prevailed in the Boys' B Bracket Championship.
The Boys' U-14 and Girls' High School tourneys were shown entirely across ESPN/Disney platforms with a total of 30 games airing across the Disney family of networks and streaming platforms.
