MVPs from Week 1 of the Michigan girls flag football season

REDFORD THURSTON 12, DETROIT COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ARTS 0

Angel Henderson, Thurston: Speed kills, and Henderson proved she has it for days, rushing four times for 106 yards. That included a 76-yard TD run that secured the Eagles’ first win in program history, which is saying something because the ball was hard to hold onto in the driving rain.

Redford Thurton's Rayanna Lewis passes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League game on Friday, April 24, 2026, at Bob Atkins Field.

REDFORD THURSTON 20, DETROIT RENAISSANCE 0

Rayanna Lewis, Thurston: The QB looked good vs. Detroit CMA, but she looked even more polished in the second game of the doubleheader. Against the Phoenix, she finished 8 of 18 passing for 181 yards, two TDs, one interception and one one-point conversion, relying on her top targets like Mariya Plata, Mi’Chale Owens and Taylor Kinney.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's Reese Holton returns an interception during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League football game on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S 60, FARMINGTON 13

Reese Holton, St. Mary’s: Had hands down the most impressive performance of the weekend, finishing 18 of 32 passing for 349 yards, 5 TDs, three one-point conversions and one two-point conversion while also returning two interceptions for 37- and 22-yard TDs. The Eaglets don’t do a ton of things in their flag football version of Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense, but what they do is expertly done. In a Joe Montana-like performance, Holton was money on short and intermediate routes crossing through the middle.

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Sophie Abbo, Farmington: And before you ask why St. Mary’s didn’t sub out its starters when the score got out of hand, just know the Eaglets couldn’t. They only have a handful of players on the sidelines. When Holton finally left the game, Abbo made the most of the opportunity, picking off the first pass not thrown by Holton and returning it 22 yards for a score to give the Falcons some life before they later played rival North Farmington.

Brighton's Emma Adamczyk passes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League football game on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

BRIGHTON 38, NOVI 0

Emma Adamczyk, Brighton: The Bulldogs took the field immediately after watching Holton dominate through the air, and Adamczyk looked just as impressive behind center. While targeting nine different receivers, she finished 21 of 32 passing for 256 yards, four TDs and one interception to Novi’s Khaell Sakoguchi. Many believe Brighton is the favorite to win the state title this year, and her arm is a big reason why.

North Farmington's Summer Williams returns an interception during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League football game on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

NORTH FARMINGTON 26, FARMINGTON 20

Summer Williams, North: Surprisingly, returning an interception 21 yards for a TD wasn’t the biggest play Williams made. With 2:50 left and the Raiders trailing by two points, Chu Boaz completed a pass to Williams, who raced 66 yards for the game-winning TD. The two connected again on the ensuing two-point conversion. Williams finished with three catches for 87 yards.

Allison Stephens, Farmington: Until Williams’ late TD, it looked like the Falcons were going to beat their Farmington Public Schools rival, mostly because of how tough Stephens ran all game. She finished with four rushes for 83 yards, including a 70-yard go-ahead TD that made it 20-12 with 15:23 left.

Clawson's Grace Fisher rushes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League game on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Bishop Foley High School.

CLAWSON 12, BIRMINGHAM GROVES 0

Grace Fisher, Clawson: Made her senior debut after her mother recently lost a battle with cancer. She rushed 14 times for 173 yards, including a 66-yard TD run that iced the victory. On one play, Fisher broke two tackles for a 22-yard gain, which had Clawson superfan Carrie crying on the sidelines, saying, “You just know her mom helped her with that one. She’d be so proud of her right now.”

Ke'lko Buskin, Groves: The Falcons couldn’t find the end zone, but the junior still showed why she’s one of the best QBs in the state. With Fisher rushing her on almost every play, Buskin stayed calm and poised in the pocket, making tough throws look easy. She finished 10 of 24 passing for 119 yards and added an interception and two pass breakups on defense.

P-CEP's Natalie Jordan returns an interception during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League football game on Sunday, April 26, 2026.

P-CEP PROWLERS 12, NORTHVILLE 6

Natalie Jordan, P-CEP: Neither team crossed midfield in the first half, so the travel hockey goalie did the heavy lifting for the Prowlers’ offense after halftime — only she did it on defense. Jordan opened the second half with an interception she returned to the 12-yard line. Two plays later, running back Evelyn Stiglish cashed in on the turnover with a 6-yard sprint for the game’s first score.

More: Cast your vote for the Michigan girls flag football Player of the Week

Jordan wasn’t done there. Northville went for it on fourth down in its own territory on the ensuing possession, but Jordan came up with a tackle for loss that forced a turnover on downs and put the Prowlers’ offense at the 13-yard line. That led to Mikayla Roberts tossing a TD to Bella Bozinovski on fourth and goal to secure the victory.

Lili Vettraino, Northville: The chief reason P-CEP couldn’t get anything going offensively was Vettraino, who made just about every throw for Prowlers QB Charlie Lindstrom difficult. Vettraino broke up one pass, had one tackle for loss and two QB hurries that resulted in incomplete passes.

Wayne Memorial's Laylah Brown rushes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League game on Friday, April 24, 2026.

WAYNE MEMORIAL 6, DETROIT UPREP 0

Laylah Brown, Wayne: The Zebras scored just one TD, but that was all they needed. Brown had three carries for 21 yards, including one that went the distance for 6 to secure the first victory in program history.

Westland John Glenn's Bayley Wiseley celebrates a TD during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League game on Friday, April 24, 2026.

WESTLAND JOHN GLENN 7, BELLEVILLE 6

Bayley Wisely, John Glenn: Perhaps no player was more tired after the game than Wisely, who played in a soccer match for the Rockets before joining the flag football team for the nightcap. After helping her team edge West Bloomfield 3-2 on the pitch, she caught three passes for 112 yards and rushed for another 33 yards and the game-winning TD on the gridiron.

Bloomfield Hills' Eva Kontos passes during a Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League football game on Sunday, April 26, 2026.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS 31, ROCHESTER COMMUNITY SCHOOLS 0

Eva Kontos, Bloomfield Hills: It didn’t matter who was catching the ball — Kendyll Parker or Julia Finkelstein — Kontos was making the throw. She tossed two TD passes and a one-point conversion to help the Black Hawks blank RCS in their first game as a program.

Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.

This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: MVPs from Week 1 of the Michigan girls flag football season