PHOENIX — Girls across the Valley laced up and hit the field Tuesday night for their first official flag football games.
Twenty-four high school flag football teams played their first games on Tuesday.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association approved girls' flag football as an official sport late last year with this fall being the inaugural season. There are 55 teams in two different conferences.
Some high schools in Arizona did have a club for flag football, but this year, it’s official and they get to compete.
ABC15 caught up with some of the players during a practice earlier this month.
For some of the girls, being on a football team is what they once only dreamed of. Especially Sandra Day O'Connor High School senior Mia Maldonado, who wanted to be a quarterback.
“Now, I get to really live it out,” she told ABC15.
ABC15 caught up with Don Abram, the head coach of the girls' flag football team at McClintock High School on Tuesday.
“Girls, have fun. This ain't the end of the world. It’s the beginning of the season,” he said in the weight room before the game.
As the clock got closer to 6 p.m. Tuesday night, it couldn't be more clear it was time to finally make history.
“I feel like there’s a lot more representation for girls now,” Kleena Cain told ABC15.
Cain says she is a receiver for the Chargers, but plays other positions, too. She said she’s dreamed of this moment for a long time.
“We have a place now. It’s not just going out and messing around with the football. Like we have a title now,” said Cain.
It’s a dream that became a reality Tuesday at McClintock High School, as the Chargers squared up with the St. John Paul II Lions.
Head coach Abram tells ABC15 he couldn’t be more proud.
“I think it’s about time. The girls get an opportunity to show what they can do as much as the gentlemen.”
It’s a first for his athletes and for him.
