BUTTE — High school girls flag football had three schools participating in its inaugural season in Montana in 2022.
Last fall that number jumped to 27 teams, and it's continuing to rapidly grow.
Montana State's Taco Dowler and Adam Jones have been hosting youth football camps across Montana all summer.
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Sunday afternoon's session at Naranche Stadium in Butte had a different focus than the rest, geared toward one of the fastest growing sports in Montana.
Dowler highlighted the importance of shedding light on high school girls flag football right now.
"Adding this as a sport in high school is insane," Dowler said. "We've got Glacier here and they were state champs last year. It's crazy how far athletics has came as a whole, but women's athletics as well."
The idea came about by a sponsor who floated the idea to Dowler and Jones.
"We actually have teammates (whose) sisters are getting scholarships to play flag football," Jones said. "So we were like we might as well do this, it's an awesome thing."
The participation for the camp far exceeded Dowler's expectations.
"We had over 100 girls here," Dowler said. "When we came up with the idea we (wanted to) see if we could get 40 girls. (Then) they all showed up today and me and Adam were like, oh my gosh."
One of the campers, Norah Cantrell of Kalispell Glacier, had a great experience learning from the Bobcats.
"It was so cool," Cantrell said. "I've always loved MSU and it was kind of surreal to be on the field with all of them and learning from them."
Butte quarterback Rylee Erickson enjoyed her experience as well.
"It was really fun," Erickson said. "I think we all had really good connections and we all worked (well) as a team."
The campers' concentration stood out to Dowler.
"They listen a lot better than guys," Dowler said. "They're focused ... It's a lot of fun, it's a lot different for us."
According to Jones, the players' skills were highlighted as well.
"There are really, really talented girls out there," Jones said. "And it's fun to watch."
The game is on a trajectory to keep growing with new opportunities for players at the next level as well, potentially including Cantrell.
"I started this last season, so I've only played for one season," Cantrell said. "I fell in love, and it's so great seeing that it's going into colleges everywhere and that I might have a chance to play a college sport."
The sport's growth extends beyond the players of this camp, something Jones has thought about.
"I know if Taco and I have daughters this is probably something that we'd want them to do," Jones said.
Dowler echoed this sentiment.
"I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to have only daughters for some reason," Dowler said. "Caylee (Dowler's wife) and I are definitely going to have our girl playing as many sports as she can."
Dowler says girls flag football will continue to evolve on its own.
"It's a great sport, everyone should be playing football from a young age," Dowler said. "All sports are great. You learn a lot of competitiveness and grit through sports and teamwork ... (there's) a lot of life lessons and morals through sports."
