Girls flag football surges in Michigan as St. Joseph QB Lainie Dorow earns national recognition

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- Girl's high school flag football is booming nationwide, with participation estimates climbing from around 15,700 players in the 2020-21 school year to nearly 69,000 in 2024-25.

That growth is showing up in Michigan, too. The Detroit Lions’ girls flag football league has expanded from a four-team pilot program to 41 schools — a roughly tenfold jump in just two seasons.

One of the sport’s rising faces is Lainie Dorow, a junior at St. Joseph High School who helped deliver a historic moment for the state.

Dorow quarterbacks the St. Joseph girls flag football team that won Michigan’s first-ever state championship. The title game ended in a 21-20 win that came down to the final second — with Dorow sealing it on defense by pulling a flag at the goal line.

St. Joseph coach Matt Koch said Dorow’s football IQ sets her apart, along with an arm that stretches the field.

“She knows every route that every player has to run, and she knows depending on coverages where the ball should be thrown,” Koch said. “But other than that, being able to throw the ball about 50 yards definitely helps.”

Dorow’s season continued to turn heads after the Detroit Lions named her their Michigan player of the year. That honor now has her in the running for a national award — one of 32 athletes selected nationwide.

“I can’t imagine any other player that I would choose over her,” Koch said. “She’s that special. She’s that dynamic of a player.”

Dorow said the recognition still feels surreal.

“It doesn’t even sound real,” Dorow said. “That’s just so few people in the whole country, I don’t know, that’s insane.”

Her football path didn’t start in an all-girls league. Dorow said her early reps came on a co-ed team, playing alongside boys — and learning quickly how to compete. Her mom, Tracey Martindale, said Dorow earned respect by doing what quarterbacks are supposed to do: get the ball to the right place.

“The boys loved when she played because she always found the open receiver,” Martindale said. “So, I felt like they wanted her to be on their team because she found them and didn’t throw it away a lot.”

Those close to Dorow describe her as competitive and joyful, with the kind of preparation that shows up long before the first snap. Martindale said she still remembers her daughter breaking down opponents at an age when most kids are just trying to have fun.

“I remember her writing a list — and I think I sent it to Coach Koch — of all the ways to beat the team they were going to play,” Martindale said. “And I thought, who does that in fifth grade?”

While flag football continues to grow, Dorow’s future in sports is still taking shape. For now, she said her focus is on representing a sport she believes is here to stay.

“I want to represent that girls flag football is a thing,” Dorow said. “It’s a real thing and it’s coming up bigger and better than ever.”

Dorow will find out in March whether she is named the girls national flag football player of the year — another milestone for her, and another sign of how quickly the sport is expanding.