Kansas Girls Flag Football: Rules, Season, and Stats

Kansas girls flag football is now a KSHSAA-sanctioned fall activity. For coaches, that means the sport has moved beyond the pilot stage. Teams now have a state-governed season, a postseason path, and a clearer reason to keep complete game and player records.

This page covers what Kansas coaches should know before the season, which details still require a check with KSHSAA, and how to build a stat workflow that lasts from the opening game through the postseason.

The quick answer for Kansas coaches

The Kansas State High School Activities Association governs girls flag football as a fall activity.

KSHSAA built the activity under the NFHS flag football framework. High school teams can play between six and ten regular-season games before the KSHSAA postseason. The association approved the sport after a pilot that included 28 Kansas high schools and averaged 24 athletes per roster.

Three things matter most for a coach:

• Use the current KSHSAA rules and activity documents, not a generic recreational rulebook.
• Confirm any state-adopted options before the first game.
• Score every game with the same player names, jersey numbers, and stat definitions.

Kansas is entering its first sanctioned cycle, so competition details can change as the association settles the postseason structure. Check KSHSAA before publishing a schedule, classification, or tournament-format claim.

How Kansas reached sanctioned status

Kansas did not add the sport based on a small demonstration game. The pilot built enough participation to meet the association's threshold for sanctioning.

According to KSHSAA, girls flag football started at the club level with only a handful of Kansas programs. The final pilot involved 28 high schools, with an average roster of 24 athletes. The KSHSAA Board of Directors then approved sanctioning by a 61 to 1 vote.

The vote followed demonstrated statewide demand, not a one-day exhibition. For coaches and athletic directors, the shift brings higher expectations for consistent rules, complete results, and player statistics.

Kansas is now part of a larger group of states moving girls flag football from an NFL-supported pilot into a state-association championship structure. You can follow the national picture in the state-by-state sanctioning tracker.

How the Kansas fall season works

KSHSAA identifies girls flag football as a fall activity. The association's adopted framework permits six to ten regular-season games for high school teams and ends with a state tournament.

The exact schedule belongs to KSHSAA and each participating school. The first sanctioned cycle makes these questions more important than a generic fall calendar:

• Has the school completed the steps required to enter the new KSHSAA postseason?
• Which qualification and seeding process applies now that the pilot has become a championship activity?
• How many games will the program schedule within the six-to-ten-game range?
• Which students are balancing flag football with another fall activity, and what do KSHSAA's dual-sport provisions require?
• Who is responsible for submitting rosters, results, and any postseason materials?

Georgia, Colorado, and Illinois also play in the fall, but none of their calendars answers those Kansas-specific questions.

Which rules apply in Kansas

KSHSAA built its rules under the NFHS flag football framework, giving Kansas a national rules base while preserving state choices.

The NFHS rules are written for seven-player football. They also give state associations authority over several options, including field configuration, kicking, flags, officials, overtime, and other competition details.

Before the first game, compare the current KSHSAA materials with the NFHS rules overview for high school coaches. If the documents differ, the KSHSAA adoption controls the Kansas game.

For a program coming out of the pilot, focus the rules meeting on the changes that can disrupt a game:

• Pilot habits versus sanctioned rules. Identify any local procedure the team used before KSHSAA approval and confirm whether it survived into the current rulebook.
• New postseason expectations. Review overtime, game-ending procedures, and any championship-site instruction before they become an elimination-game surprise.
• Field responsibility. Assign someone to verify the KSHSAA field option, zone markers, team areas, and try lines at every home site.
• Kicking and conversions. Confirm which scoring choices Kansas adopted, then make sure the scorer knows how each result appears in the box score.
• Legal equipment. Check flags and uniform contrast before warmups instead of asking officials to solve it at kickoff.

The stats Kansas coaches should keep

A complete record starts with the score, but it should not end there.

At minimum, keep:

• Final score and scoring by period.
• Passing attempts, completions, touchdowns, and interceptions.
• Rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns.
• Receptions and receiving touchdowns.
• Flag pulls and assisted flag pulls.
• Sacks and pass breakups.
• Defensive interceptions and returns.
• Forced fumbles and recoveries.
• Try attempts and successful conversions.
• Safeties and defensive touchdowns.

If your staff can reliably score yardage, also keep:

• Passing yards.
• Rushing yards.
• Receiving yards.
• Interception return yards.
• Sack yards lost.

A smaller set recorded the same way every week is more useful than a long stat sheet that changes with the scorer.

Read Flag Football Stats: What Coaches Should Track for a complete breakdown.

A practical game-day stat workflow

Set up the workflow before players arrive.

Before the season

• Use the same spelling for every player across your roster, school records, and MaxPreps.
• Confirm jersey numbers before the opening game.
• Decide whether you will score in Classic Mode or Yardage Mode.
• Assign one person to be the primary scorer.
• Decide how the staff will confirm disputed plays after the game.

Before each game

• Confirm the opponent and game location.
• Check the KSHSAA rules that affect scoring.
• Review roster changes.
• Charge the scoring device.
• Keep a printed roster as a backup.

During the game

Classic Mode is the faster option when the staff needs scoring and counting stats. Yardage Mode adds passing, rushing, and receiving yards when the scorer can enter them accurately.

After the game

• Confirm the final score.
• Review touchdowns and conversions.
• Check quarterback attempts against completions, interceptions, and sacks.
• Check that each completed pass has the correct receiver.
• Review defensive takeaways and flag pulls.
• Export and save the final box score.

A short review keeps a scoring mistake from rolling into the season totals.

Getting Kansas stats into MaxPreps

StatHawk is a MaxPreps Stat Import Partner. The workflow is file-based.

After the game is final:

1. Review the box score.
2. Create the MaxPreps export file.
3. Save or share the file.
4. Upload it through the MaxPreps import workflow.
5. Review the imported totals before submitting them.

The workflow is coach-controlled. The file moves to MaxPreps only after the coach reviews and uploads it.

Use the full walkthrough in How to Export Flag Football Stats to MaxPreps.

Why season-long consistency matters

The first sanctioned Kansas season will create new benchmarks for programs across the state. Coaches will compare results, players will accumulate varsity records, and postseason games will carry more attention than pilot contests. A reliable game log lets a coach answer:

• Who is producing consistently?
• Which players are creating turnovers?
• How often is the offense finishing drives?
• Is quarterback efficiency improving?
• Which defenders are making the most stops?
• Are the team's MaxPreps totals supported by the underlying games?

Each answer traces back to the same defensible record of what happened.

FAQ

Is girls flag football sanctioned in Kansas? Yes. KSHSAA governs girls flag football as a sanctioned fall activity after a statewide pilot reached the participation level needed for approval.

Which rulebook should a Kansas coach bring to the field? Start with the current KSHSAA materials. They use the NFHS framework but also contain the Kansas choices that control competition.

How many games can a Kansas high school play? The KSHSAA sanctioning materials permit six to ten regular-season games for high school teams. Confirm the current limit and postseason rules with KSHSAA before scheduling.

What is the MaxPreps workflow after a Kansas game? Review the box score, create the compatible export file in StatHawk, and upload it through MaxPreps. The coach decides when the record is final and ready to submit.

Should every Kansas team keep yardage? Only if the scorer can do it consistently. Classic Mode is appropriate for fast scoring and counting stats. Yardage Mode adds passing, rushing, and receiving yards.

Track your team with StatHawk

Kansas programs are establishing their varsity records from the first sanctioned season forward. StatHawk lets one scorer capture the game live, finish a full box score, create the MaxPreps file, and share a GameView link with families. Explore StatHawk Pro for deeper season analytics and AI season summaries, or start free on the App Store.