CANTON, Ohio — July 20, 2025 — Coach Keenan Hughs knew his team this year possessed the talent to compare with last year’s edition that fell short in the national semifinals. But despite being 41-3 entering the NFL FLAG Championships, he remained unsure if this team had the heart to win it all.
“And for a lot of the season I was still unsure because [the team] was so quiet. I mean, at practice they were quiet and on the sidelines, they were quiet,” he said.
His Texas Fury Texans flipped the switch once stepping foot in Canton, however, leading to them claiming the High School Girls division NFL FLAG Championship in a 19-0 shutout against the Bad Rabbits Cowboys.
“Once they got here, they turned into a completely different animal – turning it on when they needed to,” Hughs said.
The energy from the Texans shifted directly into their opening drive of the game. Only 2:20 into the first quarter, a diving Zahara Hill secured a 12-yard pass from Emery Beckett to get the Texans on the board. A conversion, with another pass from Beckett, this time to Kelsey Quinn made it 7-0 Fury.
After scoring on the first drive, the Texans kept their momentum on both sides of the ball.
Right after the Texans scored their first touchdown, Kaitlyn Reynolds intercepted a pass from Giovanna Ortiz to place the ball back into Beckett’s hands.
With 4:17 left in the first half, Beckett found Quinn for another touchdown, pushing the Texas Fury’s lead to 13-0.
On the defensive side, the Texans were nothing short of noteworthy. Not allowing a single touchdown, the girls displayed lockdown defense throughout the game, specifically in the red zone.
With the Bad Rabbits holding the ball late in the first half, Jessica Manriquez took a pass for 17 yards deep into Texas Fury territory. The Texans stopped the next three pass attempts.
“The girls have heart; that takes heart,” Beckett said of the lockdown defense the Texans displayed throughout the game.
The Bad Rabbits’ first drive of the second half ended when Sonya Chalil recorded the Texans’ second interception of the game, placing the ball once again into Beckett’s hands.
After having a touchdown pass nullified by a penalty with 4:48 seconds left, Beckett passed short right to Zahara Hill for three yards for another touchdown, bringing the Texans’ lead to 19-0.
Beckett completed 100 percent of her pass attempts in her championship performance, going eight-for-eight for 102 yards and three touchdowns to earn MVP honors.
“My receivers make me look good. I love them with my whole heart,” Beckett said when asked about her MVP-worthy performance.
Hughs, who recently was hired as the first head coach for the women’s flag football team at Concordia University in Austin, Texas, spoke about the opportunities NFL Flag has offered to female athletes through its growth.
“It’s our whole goal of our program. Every single athlete that has come through the Texans program has gone on to play at the collegiate level.”
Girls semifinal games
Bad Rabbits (Cowboys) 7, AA Select Eagles 0
Giovanna Ortiz found Camila Gomez on an 8-yard strike for the game’s only touchdown, culminating a six-play drive with 1:27 left in the game that lifted the Bad Rabbits into the championship game.
Ortiz completed 11 of 16 pass attempts for 117 yards overall. Gomez caught a team-high four passes for 29 yards.
Keira Quinn connected on 15 of her 19 pass attempts for 128 yards. Rowan Cunningham caught seven of Quinn’s passes for a team-high 49 yards.
Texas Fury (Texans) 7, Conquer (Chargers) 6
Emery Beckett and Ava Wallace combined to complete 13 of 17 passes for 127 yards as Texas Fury eked out its semifinal contest. The Fury had fallen short on the same stage a year ago.
Beckett and Kelsey Quinn combined on a 27-yard touchdown, and again on what proved to be the decisive extra point, with 1:09 left in the first half. Quinn caught four passes for a team-leading 60 yards.
Conquer narrowed the margin with 3:47 remaining in the game when Sophie Guitron gathered in a Madi Lam pass from the seven-yard line. The extra-point attempt failed, and Texas Fury was able to run out the clock.
Lam completed 13 of 21 passes for 102 yards. Shelby Hguyen caught five passes for 43 yards.
