It was a busy but successful Opening Day on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Hogan-Ennis Park in Escalon, with hundreds of youngsters donning jerseys and playing flag football on the fields surrounding the Escalon Community Center.
There were players of all ages, girls and boys, with the contests starting early and running throughout the day, with the program run through the City of Escalon Recreation Department.
“This year is especially exciting for us as we’re introducing our 6U Girls Division, completing our expansion of girls’ divisions across all age groups,” said Recreation Coordinator Ivette Arevalo. “We began expanding opportunities for girls in 2024 when we introduced our 10U and 13U Girls Divisions and increased our upper age limit to 14. Since then, we’ve continued building on that growth, and this year marks another exciting milestone for our program.”
This year, with the addition of 6U girls, there are ample opportunities for girls to play flag football, with as many age groups as the boys playing the sport.
Arevalo said the registration totals show the steady rise in participation by girls in the rec program over the past few years.
Girls registered for flag football in 2023 was 24 out of the 263 total participants. In 2024, there were 74 girls and 341 total participants; 2025 saw 102 girls registered among the 380 total participants. This year, a total of 145 girls are registered across the various age divisions, with a total of 401 players between boys and girls.
“We’ve gone from just 24 girls in 2023 to 145 girls in 2026, an increase of over 500% in only three years,” Arevalo shared. “With girls flag football continuing to gain popularity, it’s exciting to see that growth happening right here in Escalon. What started with just a small group of female players has developed into a program that now offers girls the opportunity to participate from our youngest division through age 14.”
For Joey Costa, serving as an assistant coach for the 6U 49ers – a team his granddaughter Millie is on – it has been enjoyable to watch the growth of the program locally.
“It’s fun because they’re all eager to learn,” Costa said. “We’ve only had two practices so far but we’re hoping to increase that. And there’s opportunities for them at the next level, in high school, there will be opportunities there.”
Head coach for the team is Joe Borba, Costa’s son-in-law.
“We’re more than excited to be out here, the girls get to be in their own division at this age, they get to get out and enjoy football so it’s a great experience for all of them,” Borba said.
There are also some new connections being made, Arevalo added.
“One other exciting thing this year is that players and parents from the Escalon High School Girls Flag Football Team will be partnering with Escalon Strong to run our snack bar throughout the season,” she noted. “I think it’s pretty cool to have the high school girls involved and supporting the younger generation of players.”
Spending some time in the snack bar on Saturday morning, working a shift, was Kenley Koops from the Escalon High School varsity flag football team.
She was enjoying watching the youngest flag football players get their start and said she is happy that the community is supportive of the program as well.
“I’m excited; I think there’s definitely a lot of progress happening in this program,” Koops said of the benefits of girls starting in the sport at an early age.
And as far as what she likes most about flag football?
“I enjoy just making connections on the team,” Koops said. “I think that being able to go through high school with them, having girls on your side on the field and through school; I just think that shows a good community.”
With several weeks of games to be played this season, Arevalo said they anticipate lots of action on the fields, along with plenty of learning about the game.
“It has been so much fun seeing our youngest girls get involved, and I’m looking forward to watching this division continue to grow,” she said.
