The field is set for the first official TSSAA Girls’ Flag Football state tournament in Murfreesboro as 16 region winners will compete across two classes on Thursday and Friday.
Although the sport has been active in Tennessee in some way, shape, or form since 2022, the 2026 season marks the first official state tournament where qualifiers earned their way in (2025 was deemed a State Invitational).
Eight teams in the 615 Preps coverage area earned spots in the tournament, which will take place at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro over the two days. Thursday’s action will consist strictly of pool play, as each class is split into two four-team groups to determine seeding for Friday’s knockout rounds.
Who’s in
In Class A, Pearl-Cohn and Creek Wood will once again compete in Murfreesboro as both teams made last year’s field. Creek Wood suffered a 19-18 loss to Walker Valley in the first round, while Pearl-Cohn defeated Ezell-Harding 24-19 before suffering a 21-19 loss to Ravenwood in the quarterfinals.
Joining the Lady Red Hawks and Lady Firebirds from the coverage area are Gordonsville – who defeated 2025 runner-up Stone Memorial 8-2 in Saturday’s Region 3-A final, and Merrol Hyde. The Lady Hawks, in their first season, routed White House 53-21 on Friday in the Region 4-A final after White House upset top-seeded Liberty Creek in the semifinals.
Rounding out the Class A field are Coalfield, Jackson North Side (also a 2025 tournament participant), Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE), and Silverdale.
In Class AA, Blackman, Mt. Juliet, Overton, and Ravenwood are the area teams competing. Last year, Blackman dropped a 14-13 decision to Liberty Creek in the first round, while Ravenwood defeated Carter, Pearl-Cohn, Walker Valley, and Stone Memorial en route to winning the tournament title.
West Creek, Arlington (a 2025 quarterfinalist), Bearden, and 2025 semifinalist Walker Valley round out the participants.
How the tournament works
Thursday’s pool play gets underway at 1 p.m. with games running on four fields, one from each pool. Each team will play three games on Thursday to determine their seeding and bracket position for Friday’s single-elimination tournament, which begins at 10 a.m.
In case of a tie between two teams for seeding during pool play, their head-to-head result will determine who gets the higher seed. If there’s a three-way tie, head-to-head results between the tied teams would be the first tiebreaker. If a second tiebreaker is required, it then goes to the team with the fewest points allowed against the other tied teams. Should that not break the tie, a coin flip would be necessary. In a three-way tie, once one position is determined, the tiebreaker reverts back to the head-to-head matchup between the remaining tied teams.
Other important info
If overtime is needed, each team will get one attempt at a one-point conversion (from the 3-yard line) or two-point conversion (from the 10-yard line) during the overtime period. If the game is still tied, the process continues until a winner is determined. There are no time outs during overtime.
The mercy rule goes into effect if a team is ahead by 19 or more points at the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. The game clock will continue to run, though coaches can mutually agree to end a game early.
2026 State Tournament Schedule
Thursday’s pool play
Class A
Pool A (all games on Field 1)
1 p.m. – Pearl-Cohn vs. Jackson North Side
2:30 p.m. – Coalfield vs. Gordonsville
4 p.m. – Jackson North Side vs. Coalfield
5:30 p.m. – Gordonsville vs. Pearl-Cohn
7 p.m. – Jackson North Side vs. Gordonsville
8:30 p.m. – Pearl-Cohn vs. Coalfield
Pool B (all games on Field 2)
1 p.m. – Creek Wood vs. MASE
2:30 p.m. – Silverdale vs. Merrol Hyde
4 p.m. – MASE vs. Silverdale
5:30 p.m. – Merrol Hyde vs. Creek Wood
7 p.m. – MASE vs. Merrol Hyde
8:30 p.m. – Creek Wood vs. Silverdale
Class AA
Pool C (all games on Field 3)
1 p.m. – Overton vs. West Creek
2:30 p.m. – Bearden vs. Blackman
4 p.m. – West Creek vs. Bearden
5:30 p.m. – Blackman vs. Overton
7 p.m. – West Creek vs. Blackman
8:30 p.m. – Overton vs. Bearden
Pool D (all games on Field 4)
1 p.m. – Ravenwood vs. Arlington
2:30 p.m. – Walker Valley vs. Mt. Juliet
4 p.m. – Arlington vs. Walker Valley
5:30 p.m. – Mt. Juliet vs. Ravenwood
7 p.m. – Arlington vs. Mt. Juliet
8:30 p.m. – Ravenwood vs. Walker Valley
Friday’s tournament schedule
10 a.m. – Class A quarterfinals
11:30 a.m. – Class AA quarterfinals
1 p.m. – Class A semifinals
2:30 p.m. – Class AA semifinals
4 p.m. – Class A championship game
6 p.m. – Class AA championship game