The 2nd Annual RSF/GPF Central Coast All-Stars Game on Jan. 4 pits Monterey County’s top varsity girls against their Santa Cruz County counterparts.
Flag football is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the nation and will debut as an Olympic sport in 2028.
For local families, a chance to see standout student-athletes up close comes Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 in Aptos, where the second Annual RSF/GPF Central Coast All-Stars Game will pit Monterey County’s top varsity girls against their Santa Cruz County counterparts.
At the final practice for the South All-Stars at North Salinas High School on Sunday, RSF/GPF Flag Football All-Star Game Director Joel Domhoff called the players "the best of the best."
"Now they have finished their season, which included the first Central Coast Section playoffs, they get to come together and play with former opponents to showcase the talent in this area," Domhoff said.
The Monterey County roster features top players from high schools across the region, including King City, Marina, Carmel and Salinas campuses such as Rancho San Juan, Salinas High, North Salinas, Palma and Alisal High.
Among the players to watch on Sunday is Salinas High School standouts Jaslyne Coronado and Alissa Escutia said Salinas High School flag football coachKalah Ishimaru.
Escutia, who holds a 3.9 GPA in addition to clocking 1,783 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns this season to earn First Team Offense honors in the CCS PCAL Gavilan Division, was recently nominated by the San Francisco 49ers as a finalist for the third annual NFL Latino Youth Honors, a distinction that carries a chance at a $25,000 scholarship.
Ishimaru, who has a background in rugby, started the girls flag football program in 2023 at Salinas High, where she has seen interest in the sport explode.
"Our first year at Salinas High we had about 30-35 girls that came out, and our second year we grew to about 40 and this last year we had 82 girls come out for flag football," said Ishimaru, adding that while the school offers both a JV and Varsity team, there were not enough spots available for all the girls.
The local trend is on track nationally, as across the country, the number of participants in girls flag football more than doubled from 2022-23 to 2023-24, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
A total of 42,955 girls across the nation participated in flag football in 2023-24 compared to 20,875 the previous year—a 105% increase.
In California, nearly 11,000 girls participated in flag football in 2023-24.
"We went from less than a thousand high schools in California offering flag football programs to over 2,000 now within just two years," said Alyssa Dixon, Marina high school flag football coach. "I mean, the growth is absolutely phenomenal."
As girls flag football grows at the high school level, collegiate opportunities are expanding as well. There are at least 65 NCAA schools sponsoring women’s flag football at the club or varsity levels this year and more to join in 2026.
"Currently, there's 93 schools from NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) all the way through D1 that offer full scholarships for young ladies to go out and play football and continue their athletic and academic career," Ishimaru said. "Right now, it's a beta sport with the NCAA but it is going full 100% in February, and once that happens all D1 schools will have to offer women's flag football at all levels."
Dixon, who in addition to her coaching duties will be playing for the women's pro football team, Golden State Storm in the Women’s National Football Conference inaugural 2026 season, said the opportunities flag football opens up for female athletes can be life changing.
"Us as a state, as a country, have realized that this is going to be really big and we want to give these ladies an opportunity to be successful in football," Dixon said.
South All-Stars Roster
- #22: Bailey Casarez, Rancho San Juan, C
- #26: Jaslyne Coronado, Salinas, WR/S
- #23: Melony Erazo-Chavez, Rancho San Juan, QB
- #5: Alissa Escutia, Salinas, WR
- #21: Josie Hanson, Carmel, S/WR/QB
- #88: Maya Ibarra, North County, QB/RB/WR/S
- #10: Calleigh Panziera, Salinas, WR/LB/S
- #11: Mia Rivera, Alisal, WR/S
- #13: Dania Rodriguez, King City, WR/S
- #33: Gracy Ruiz-Gamino, Marina, RB/DB/P
- #9: Jimena Salazar-Camacho, Salinas, LB/DB/RB
- #6: Elsie Sargenti, Palma, WR/DB
- #3: Ava Staehle, Carmel, S/LB/WR
- #0: Esmeralda Torres, Marina, WR/RB/LB
- #2: Eva Vicencio, King City, RB/DE
- #4: Irie Williams, North Salinas, RB/QB
How to watch the RSF/GPF Central Coast All-Stars Game
Live: Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, at Aptos High School, 100 Mariner Way, Aptos. Noon: Skills competition. 1 p.m.: Game begins.
Tickets: $5/person (middle and high school students are free w/student ID)
The game will also be broadcast live on NFHS and will air on tape delay on Community Television of Santa Cruz.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: All-Stars flag football game spotlights Monterey County’s best
Category: General Sports
