Capture the Flags: Dallas Girls Drawn to Football
Cowboys-sponsored spring league spurs opportunities for women
Micah Mowles has already played basketball, softball, volleyball, and other sports at W.T. White.
But when the sophomore found out the school was launching a flag football team, she enthusiastically added to that resume.
W.T. White’s Micah Mowles (11) eludes several defenders after a catch during the Play Big Dallas Jamboree flag football initiative at Kincaide Stadium in Dallas on Saturday March 29, 2025.
All 22 high schools in Dallas ISD are participating this spring in the Dallas Cowboys Girls Flag Football League, which is acting as a pilot program for the growing sport and could be a precursor to statewide sanctioning in the future.
Mowles, whose older brother Jimmy played receiver for the Longhorns in the fall, and her teammates certainly hope that’s the case.
“We picked it up fast. But most of us are athletes, and we can carry over our fundamentals from other sports,” she said. “There’s room for everyone in flag football.”
Flag football, which will be part of the Summer Olympics for the first time in 2028, is a non-contact version of the sport with a customized ball, shortened time periods, and seven players per side on a 70-by-30-yard field. It’s very similar to traditional 7-on-7 football.
W.T. White’s Micah Mowles (11) eludes several defenders after a catch during the Play Big Dallas Jamboree flag football initiative at Kincaide Stadium in Dallas on Saturday March 29, 2025.
The popularity among girls has been reflected by participation numbers on just about every campus in the league. At WTW, more than 60 students attended an open tryout for a team with just 15 jerseys.
“A lot of these girls have never played football,” said WTW coach Lakita Dockery, who is also the school’s head volleyball coach.
Although Dockery is the head coach for the Longhorns, she has football coaches helping with play design and strategy on the sidelines. Because the league is not just about empowering female football players, but coaches, too.
“It’s been a learning experience for everybody,” Dockery said. “It’s all about teamwork from the coaching staff to the kids.”
Everybody involved makes it clear that this five-game schedule plus playoffs is not intended as an exhibition, but serious competition.
“They’re sweating and they’re grinding,” said Hillcrest assistant coach Matt Kintz, whose wife, Robin, is the head coach for the Panthers. “They get nicked and fall down and get bumps and bruises and get right back up and do it all over again.”
The Cowboys are spearheading local efforts to grow the game by helping to sponsor more than 50 teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, plus dozens more in Austin and El Paso. Many of the games are played at the team’s headquarters at The Star in Frisco.
Former defensive back Danny McCray, who now oversees the youth football development programs for the Cowboys, hopes the growth will catch the attention of the UIL.
“The interest is there. All of the girls that watch football, a lot of them want to play it,” McCray said. “The sky is the limit.”
