HILLSBORO – Through on and off rain, a quick hit of hail and the booms of a nearby airshow at Liberty High School on Saturday, May 16, Tualatin girls flag football stayed focused.
Needing overtime in the state championship game against South Salem after the Saxons shut the Timberwolves out in the second half and tied the game at 26, Tualatin hung tough.
The Saxons started with the ball in OT and Tualatin senior Ries Miadich came up with an interception in the end zone to end the threat.
On the first play of the Timberwolves’ offensive possession, Miadich threw it deep to the nearside corner where sophomore Sydney Murdick came down with the pass for the walk-off score and a 32-26 championship victory.
“I just saw the ball in the air and my coach told us in the huddle earlier that picks in this time of the game are huge,” Miadich said of her OT interception. “I was like, ‘I have to come down with that ball.’
“Whenever we put (Murdick) on that side, it’s from me to her and I have so much trust in her,” Miadich added on the game-winning TD. “I see her go on the outside and I just need to throw the ball up and pray she catches, and she does 95% of the time.”
The title game marked the conclusion of girls flag football’s second year as an OSAA emerging activity. The sport had 58 schools participate this season in one combined classification, passing the required threshold to possibly become a sanctioned sport in 2027.
As for the title game itself, the two sides were slow to start on offense, but Tualatin finally broke through with 2:45 left in the first quarter. Miadich tossed her first TD pass of the game to make it 6-0 after the failed extra point, which is another play run similar to a two-point conversion in tackle football.
Early in the second quarter, it was Miadich, a guard for the Tualatin girls basketball who won the state title in 2025 and made the semifinals this past season, again finding the end zone on another pass to make it 13-0 Twolves.
“(Miadich) has been so awesome, she does all the extra film studies, understanding the defensive coverage, what we’re trying to do,” Tualatin head coach Bubba Lemon said. “For her second year of being a quarterback, it’s been pretty phenomenal to watch her.”
“(Miadich) puts everything together,” Murdick said. “Without her, I don’t know where we would be.”
South Salem cut into the lead with a touchdown pass from junior Leah Ioane to senior Piper Herring, making it 13-6 Tualatin with just under nine minutes left in the half.
Tualatin stormed right back though and Miadich finished the drive with a one-yard TD scamper to put her team back up 20-6.
On the ensuing South Salem drive, Isabella Hernandez came up with an interception at midfield for the Timberwolves and took it all the way back to the end zone to go up 26-6.
The Saxons never quit though, and eventually scored on the last play of the first half to make it a 26-12 halftime deficit.
That momentum carried over to the second half where South Salem struck first with sophomore Julie Burnell catching a TD pass from Ioane to make it a 26-19 Tualatin lead after three quarters.
On fourth down with less than three minutes to go, South Salem needed a touchdown and went up top to senior Briella Mathis in the end zone who came down with a difficult reception through a Tualatin receiver.
On the extra point, it was Mathis again diving into the end zone to tie the game at 26.
Tualatin got the ball down the field quickly and appeared to score the game-winner on the final play of regulation, but the receiver was ruled out of bounds.
Heading into overtime, it was all South Salem after stymieing the Tualatin offense in the second half.
“That we worked so hard for this,” Murdick said of the team message heading into OT. “We’re so passionate about this game and that we can work together and make it happen.”
After a couple positive plays for the Saxons, Miadich made the game-changing pick and delivered the perfect ball to Murdick to make good on that message.
“I think (Murdick) is the best flag football player in the state,” Lemon said. “She had an up and down day for sure, but she came back and was very perseverant. She is amazing.”
While girls flag football is still growing not just in terms of numbers but in intensity and care, the Timberwolves were a display of what the sport already means to many players.
There were plenty of tears of joy following the win as the team huddled around Murdick in the end zone and the coaches joined in.
“Last year was my first year with the team, I just came off winning a basketball state championship,” Miadich said. “I was like, ‘Oh this is just a for-fun sport,’ but I can’t lie, my love grew for this sport so much. I’m so happy to go out on a win.
“We really do all love each other so much. I just enjoy every single person and everyone is so kind. I have so much trust in them and that really means a lot as a teammate.”
For Lemon, who is also the boys basketball coach at Tualatin, it’s a second state title in a two-month span after the Timberwolves won the 6A boys hoops title in March. Lemon is now 3-0 all-time in title games across the two sports.
But getting the chance to do this with the girls team and being a witness to the growth of the game is the bigger win.
“You’re seeing more and more coaches coaching and I’m really happy about that and investing into the girls,” Lemon said. “It’s just growing and I love it. That’s what I wanted to be a part of. I have a daughter who’s four years old and another one even younger, so I was like, ‘What is something I would want them to do?’
“It’s a fun sport to watch, I can’t wait until they vote for it to be an OSAA-sanctioned sport for sure.”
Miadich is heading to the University of Nevada for college next where she hopes to keep playing the sport for a club at the Reno campus and see where it can continue to take her.
For now, she’s going to celebrate with her teammates that have shown what this sport can mean for student-athletes and the new opportunity it creates for girls in sports.
“It’s just amazing, we’re so passionate about the game, especially with each other,” Murdick said. “We click so well together and it’s just amazing to have this experience with them.”
Earlier results
First round
No. 1 Amity 46, No. 16 Scappoose 0
No. 9 Gresham 2, No. 8 South Medford 0 (forfeit)
No. 5 Tualatin 41, No. 12 Sprague 6
No. 4 Thurston 32, No. 13 Lakeridge 0
No. 3 South Salem 46, No. 14 Barlow 12
No. 6 Central Christian 33, No. 11 Pleasant Hill 0
No. 10 David Douglas 47, No. 7 Central Catholic 12
No. 2 Sandy 41, No. 15 Mountain View 0
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Amity 13, No. 9 Gresham 8
No. 5 Tualatin 31, No. 4 Thurston 19
No. 3 South Salem 27, No. 6 Central Christian 12
No. 10 David Douglas 14, No. 2 Sandy 13
Semifinals
No. 5 Tualatin 26, No. 1 Amity 20 (OT)
No. 3 South Salem 41, No. 10 David Douglas 20
No. 9 Gresham 20, No. 4 Thurston 14 (consolation)
No. 6 Central Christian 33, No. 2 Sandy 0 (consolation)
Finals
No. 6 Central Christian 51, No. 9 Gresham 13 (fourth/sixth place)
No. 10 David Douglas 13, No. 1 Amity 12 (third/fifth place)
No. 5 Tualatin 32, No. 3 South Salem 26 (OT)
austinw@osaa.org
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