Brighton leads Michigan's first all-state girls flag football team picks

Emma Adamczyk and Rory Chiles made the first team on Michigan’s first all-state girls flag football team, giving Brighton five players on the inaugural honor roll. Nadia El-Alayli earned second-team recognition, and Sarah Langley and Jillian Weaver were named honorable mention as the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and the Detroit Free Press selected the state’s top players from 70 nominees across 25 teams.

Adamczyk, a senior quarterback, anchored the offense with 166 completions on 226 attempts, a 73 percent rate, for 2,051 yards, 34 touchdowns, 18 conversions and only four interceptions. Chiles, a junior safety and wide receiver, was just as important on both sides of the ball, catching 29 passes for 530 yards and eight touchdowns while adding four conversions, 11 interceptions, four pick-sixes, 20 pass breakups and 19 flag pulls.

The team’s defense allowed only 18 points and posted six shutouts in nine games. Brighton reached the state quarterfinals undefeated before falling 6-0 to Gibraltar Carlson at Ford Field. The first state championship was played at Ford Field in 2025, and St. Joseph beat Brighton 21-20 for the title.

Michigan’s girls flag football league began in 2023 as a four-team pilot and grew to 24 schools and more than 600 girls by 2024, then to 41 participating schools and more than 1,000 participants by spring 2025. The Detroit Lions, Nike and USA Football supported the league with uniforms and equipment, and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation added a $325,000 grant over three years to help expand the sport and build a middle-school pipeline.

The rest of the state’s first all-state team included St. Joseph junior quarterback Lainie Dorow, the Offensive Player of the Year after leading back-to-back state championships and a perfect 7-0 record, and Wayne Memorial junior pass rusher Capri Easley, the Defensive Player of the Year after finishing with a state-best 14 sacks.