Colorado Girls Flag Football: CHSAA Rules and Reporting

Flag football in Colorado is a CHSAA sport with a published annual bulletin, a table of Colorado rule adoptions, and a 4A and 5A postseason. What makes the Colorado job different from most states is the reporting side: CHSAA names MaxPreps as the site it uses to collect regular season scores and statistics, and it sets a clock on posting them.

This guide covers the Colorado adoptions a coach has to know, the reporting expectations, and how one person can score every game the same way.

Colorado status at a glance

From the CHSAA flag football bulletin and the postseason page:

• Colorado plays under the NFHS flag football rules book with a published table of state association adoptions.
• The postseason runs in Class 4A and Class 5A, through opening round, second round and quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship games at CHSAA designated venues.
• MaxPreps is the site CHSAA uses to collect regular season scores and statistics, and MaxPreps rankings published on CHSAANow serve as the official postseason rankings for CHSAA team sports alongside league automatic qualifiers.

That last point is why Colorado coaches should read the reporting section before the rules section.

The Colorado rule adoptions that change your game

The bulletin's adoption table is short and specific. The ones that show up on a Saturday:

• Field. Diagram one, eighty yards by forty yards. Junior varsity and jamborees may be shortened.
• No hash marks. Colorado does not use them.
• No goals and no kicking. Colorado does not authorize goals, kicking, or a kicking tee.
• Officials. A minimum of three officials for regular season varsity, four for playoffs. Leagues or teams may authorize four in the regular season.
• Flag belt. A one piece quick release belt with no knots at the waistline and three permanently attached flags, in the correct size.
• Halftime. Ten minutes.
• Running clock. The clock continues to run once a team leads by at least thirty points, except during time outs, at the end of a quarter, and during an injury time out.
• Overtime. Five minute intermission, no game clock, each team starting first and goal from the opponent's ten yard line with a series of four downs. A one or two point try is allowed in the first three overtime periods, and a two point try is required beginning in the fourth. Each team gets one time out for all of overtime combined.

Overtime and the running clock are the two that break a scorer's habits, so walk your scorer through both before the season instead of during it.

Reporting: scores fast, statistics well

CHSAA requires the home team to post the score to MaxPreps within 24 hours of the game ending. Player statistics are a separate record. Review them for your team's box scores and season totals, and confirm your school's reporting responsibilities with your athletic director.

Need a printable sheet for game day? Use the girls 7v7 stat sheet to record the game on paper.

What to score every game

Choose a scorer before the game and agree on how the staff will record each stat.

Score every game:

• Touchdowns and who scored them
• Try attempts and results, including the required two point try in a fourth overtime period
• Passing attempts, completions, and interceptions thrown
• Rushing attempts and receptions by player
• Flag pulls, sacks, defensive interceptions, pass breakups, forced fumbles
• Safeties, turnovers committed, and turnovers forced
• Score by period and the final

Flag Football Stats: What Coaches Should Track has the full list and why each item is worth the tap. The 7v7 girls stat sheet is a printable backup for the scorer.

Score and review the season in StatHawk

StatHawk is a coach-operated iPhone and iPad app for scoring flag football games. You score the plays. The live score, play-by-play, box score, player and team stats, and season totals are the outputs. StatHawk does not enforce CHSAA rules, so set it up to match how Colorado plays and confirm anything rules related against the bulletin.

1. Create the team in the girls high school format and load one roster, matching names and numbers to school records and MaxPreps.
2. Pick Classic Mode or Yardage Mode and hold it for the season. Classic Mode records outcomes and counting stats without requiring yardage. Yardage Mode adds offensive yardage on supported plays.
3. Practice the workflow in a scrimmage so the scorer is fluent before a league game.
4. Review before finalizing. Final score and score by period, every touchdown and try, passing attempts and completions, turnovers, and player attribution.
5. Share the GameView link, a read-only browser view of the game that families open without an account or a download.

Season routine is in How to Track Girls Flag Football Stats All Season, and the high school stat definitions are in How to Track High School Flag Football Stats.

Getting the numbers to MaxPreps

Posting the score is a MaxPreps task the home school owns. The stat file is a separate, manual step.

StatHawk is a MaxPreps stat import partner. For an eligible finalized high school game, StatHawk exports a MaxPreps file. You save or share the file, then import it yourself through MaxPreps Team Admin. The file does not set the final score or the game result, and there is no sync, API connection, or automatic upload.

The sequence is the same one covered in How to Export Flag Football Stats to MaxPreps. Standard PDF game and season reports and the completed game play-by-play CSV are separate exports, and a PDF is never the MaxPreps import file. The partnership is explained in StatHawk Is a MaxPreps Stat Import Partner.

Official Colorado resources

• CHSAA flag football bulletin, the annual rules, adoptions, and game management document
• CHSAA flag football postseason, brackets, venues, and seeding information
• NFHS flag football rules
• StatHawk state guide hub

FAQ

Which rules does Colorado play under? The NFHS flag football rules book, with the CHSAA table of state association adoptions controlling Colorado specifics.

How big is the field? Field diagram one, eighty yards by forty yards. Junior varsity and jamborees may be shortened.

How quickly do scores have to be posted? CHSAA states all scores must be posted in MaxPreps by the home team within twenty four hours of the end of the game.

How does Colorado overtime work? Each team starts first and goal from the opponent's ten yard line with four downs, a one or two point try is allowed in the first three overtime periods, and a two point try is required beginning in the fourth.

Does StatHawk post my score for me? No. Score posting is done in MaxPreps by the home school. StatHawk exports a stat file you import yourself.

Do I have to record yardage? No. Classic Mode captures scoring and counting stats. Yardage Mode is there when you want offensive yardage as well.