Dorow headlines Michigan’s first girls flag football all-state team

Lainie Dorow threw for 1,969 yards and 28 touchdowns, then added five defensive pick-sixes to headline Michigan girls flag football’s first all-state team. The inaugural honor roll, selected by the Detroit Free Press and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, came from 70 nominated players representing 25 teams, with coaches and media members voting for a week.

Dorow, a St. Joseph junior quarterback, was named Offensive Player of the Year after guiding the Bears to back-to-back state championships, another division title and a perfect 7-0 record. Her passing line was sharp enough on its own, with 114 completions in 150 attempts and only two interceptions, but she also ran for 106 yards and two scores while making 39 flag pulls and grabbing seven interceptions on defense. That two-way impact made her the clearest face of a team built for the sport’s first formal statewide honor.

Wayne Memorial junior Capri Easley earned Defensive Player of the Year after leading the state with 14 sacks and finishing with 33 flag pulls. She also helped the Zebras reach the playoffs and win a division title, another sign that the sport’s top players are spreading beyond the championship standard set by St. Joseph.

The first-team list was loaded with production. Brighton senior Emma Adamczyk passed for 2,051 yards and 34 touchdowns, while St. Joseph receiver Meghan Postelli caught 43 passes for 806 yards and 12 scores. Those numbers matter because they give coaches a real measuring stick in a league that has moved quickly from pilot stage to statewide competition.

The all-state team arrives as Michigan girls flag football keeps expanding. The league now includes 80 schools and more than 2,000 girls, according to recent coverage of the 2026 season, a dramatic rise from four pilot teams in 2023 and 24 schools with more than 600 girls in 2024. The Detroit Lions and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation also backed the growth with a $325,000 grant over three years to help schools launch programs and build a middle-school pipeline.

That infrastructure now has results to match. St. Joseph won the first girls flag football championship in Michigan in 2025 and repeated in 2026 with a 28-12 victory over Gibraltar Carlson at Ford Field on June 7. The 2026 season used a four-week regular season and a 15-team single-elimination tournament at Ford Field, and Eastern Michigan plans to add women’s flag football as a varsity sport beginning in spring 2027. Michigan’s first all-state team gives the sport another concrete benchmark, turning standout seasons into résumé points and confirming that its talent pool is deep enough to be formally ranked.