---
title: "Beaufort, S.C., schools launch girls flag football league"
url: https://www.herebeaufort.com/2026/10/08/beaufort-county-girls-flag-football-league-kicks-off/
date: 2026-10-08T05:33:54-04:00
modified: 2026-10-08T05:33:54-04:00
author: "Tommy Zambrano"
categories: ["Sports"]
site: "HERE Beaufort"
attribution: "HERE Beaufort"
---

# Beaufort, S.C., schools launch girls flag football league

*Source: [HERE Beaufort](https://www.herebeaufort.com/2026/10/08/beaufort-county-girls-flag-football-league-kicks-off/) — October 8, 2026 by Tommy Zambrano*

BLUFFTON, S.C. — Girls flag football is officially part of the high school sports calendar in Beaufort County, S.C., after six schools, including Beaufort High, opened the county’s first girls flag football league on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

The Carolina Panthers helped launch the pilot program at May River High School, where teams from Battery Creek, Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head, May River and Whale Branch high schools were introduced. Girls from each of the six schools then took the field for the start of the inaugural season.

Carolina Panthers Charities presented the Beaufort County School District with a $15,000 grant to support the league. The money will go toward equipment kits for each school, including footballs and flags, along with uniform grants, which a district spokesperson said include Nike uniforms.

Riley Fields, the Panthers’ director of community relations, said the team’s long-term goal is for girls flag football to become a sanctioned high school sport in South Carolina, so players can compete for state championships. He said the push is about giving girls more access and more chances to compete, and he credited the district’s enthusiasm as a catalyst for growth in the region.

The sport has spread quickly across the Carolinas. Since 2022, it has grown from a North Carolina pilot involving 19 high schools and about 500 athletes to more than 250 high schools and more than 4,000 athletes in North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the Panthers. Fields said roughly 80 South Carolina schools now play in similar pilot programs.

Flag football is also set to debut as an Olympic sport at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.