Rams, Chargers Host League of Champions Super Bowl
February 16, 2023
By Amanda Scurlock
Sports Editor
To conclude their second season, the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers hosted the L.A. Girls Flag Football League of Champions Super Bowl. Days after the event, the CIF Southern Section approved of a proposal to make girls football a CIF-sanctioned sport as soon as this coming Fall.
“I remember back in 2020, we’re talking about how can we build a platform for girls to give them access and opportunity to play flag football and here we are,” said Rams director of social justice and football development Johnathan Franklin. “Everybody culminating here at Redondo Union to celebrate this historic moment.”
In the League of Champions Super Bowl, 14 teams battled in a seven-on-seven, single-game elimination tournament. The Serra Cavaliers ultimately earned the Super Bowl title.
“This is an opportunity for girls to see that they can come out too and be as athletic, as passionate and pursue their dreams as well,” said Serra flag football head coach Monique Adams. “I love being a mentor on and off the field, so being able to provide this experience for them to how to be professional, how to be committed … I think it’s very beneficial for their lives.
Prior to the start of the tournament, there was an opening ceremony where the athletes heard remarks from the Rams and Chargers franchises and from Southern Section executive committee president-elect Dr. Paula Hart Rodas.
“There are 20 NFL teams that are committed to participating in pushing this forward across our country,” Hart Rodas said. “It’s about creating these opportunities and putting the weight of the NFL and our partner organizations like Nike and Gatorade to get these opportunities open for these girls.”
Each coach also elected an MVP on their respective teams and awarded them with a trophy. Crenshaw senior Dechelle Brackett had been competing in the League of Champions for both seasons.
“It really means a lot because they were working on it the first year, so it was basically just building up to this point,” Brackett said. "I’m glad that they’re doing stuff like this, I feel like it should have been done a long time ago.”
Hawthorne flag football head coach Corey Thedford is proud that the Chargers and Rams have given female athletes a platform to showcase their abilities.
“Being able to bring football to the girls on the campus really meant a lot to me,” Thedford said. “I want to have a football community and they’re making that happen.”
During the first season, there were only eight teams. The League of Champions then expanded to 16 teams for the second season.
“The sportsmanship, the eagerness, just the fire that these ladies have inside of them to come out here and compete and have a great time and most of all, there’s another level to this,” said Chargers manager of football development Angellica Grayson. “Now they can to college and play flag football for a scholarship.”
Reigning champion Serra senior Kyli Bixon was happy to see the joy on her teammates’ faces.
“Football has always been my favorite sport and having an opportunity to have it come to our school, something new, it got me excited,” Bixon said. “Now it’s the future for us and other women.”