Mountain Vista’s Braelynn Looney primed to capture state’s first Class 5A flag football title

Braelynn Looney has been preparing for this moment ever since she made a little boy cry.

“In fourth grade, I joined an all-boys flag football team, and I was the only girl,” she said with a laugh and a competitive gleam in her eye. “I did great. My motto every time was, ‘I want to make boys cry.’ And then I did!”

Tears flowed when she sacked the quarterback.

“That was like the highlight of her life,” recalled her dad, Garrett Looney. “You’d think she’d won the Super Bowl or something.”

On Saturday, Braelynn hopes to help lead the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles to the first official Class 5A state flag football title in Colorado history. After a two-year pilot program, CHSAA sanctioned the sport for the first time this fall.

Undefeated and top-seeded Mountain Vista (17-0) plays No. 5 Legend (14-3) in the semifinals at 1:45 p.m. Saturday at Jeffco Trailblazer Stadium, while second-seeded Arvada West plays No. 3 Valor at 1:45 p.m. at neighboring Jeffco Stadium. The two winners meet for the championship at 6:45 p.m. at Trailblazer Stadium.

“So, for them to have the opportunity to go out and execute on the football field is a dream come true for a lot of these girls. Football is America’s game, and this is the opportunity to expand it.”

Doubly so for the Looney family, whose Colorado football roots run deep.

Today, Garrett is not only the head coach of Mountain Vista’s high-scoring, top-ranked 5A boys team but also the offensive coordinator for his daughter’s flag football team. Ken Ortega, the defensive coordinator for the Golden Eagles’ boys team, is also the D-coordinator for the girls. Garrett and Ken’s practice days run from 3 p.m. until after 7 p.m.

“It’s meant a long fall for us, long days, but we knew that both programs had a chance to be really good, and here we are, both undefeated,” Garrett said.

Braelynn, who plays center in a seven-on-seven sport where every player is an eligible receiver, is one of the state’s leading receivers with 97 catches for 936 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“People never expect the center to be one of the most athletic people, so I get underestimated, and sometimes I get left open,” she said.

Last spring, she was named the MVP of the West Region at the USA Flag Football Talent ID Camp and earned an invitation to try out for the U17 national team. Her ultimate goal is to play for Team USA in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She’d also like to play in college if she can find a top academic school with a program.

The 16-year-old is a 5-foot-8 speedster with great hands who thrived in high school and club team lacrosse and soccer. But football was always her passion. When she was a toddler and her dad was an assistant coach at ThunderRidge, she was outfitted in Grizzlies green and blue.

“I can’t remember not having football in my life,” she said. “Every Friday night, since I was little, it’s been that way.”

She’s a Colorado native, but she was never a Broncos fan. Her favorite player was former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — “because he’s the greatest of all time” — and her closet was full of Rob Gronkowski jerseys.

“I love ‘Gronk,’ too,”  Braelynn said.

When Mountain Vista fielded its trial flag football team last year, Braelynn was all-in. Her dad knew she was going to be good.

“When it comes to understanding the game, a lot of these girls are just as smart as the guys; they just needed to get a chance to learn the game and then go out and play, and Braelynn is proof of that,” said Garrett, who incorporated many of the passing concepts his boys team uses into the flag football game plan.

“She has a really good instinct for the game, so she knows how to get open. But she also studies the game and runs the routes we’ve designed. She can be precise or creative.”

The Golden Eagles are quarterbacked by junior Ariana Akey, who initially played flag football in the first grade on a boys team that included her twin brother, Carson, who now plays varsity for the Golden Eagles. Akey, who’s playing football for the first time in high school, has completed 338 of 499 passes (68%) for 3,765 yards, 76 TDs and seven interceptions.

Her highlight-reel moment came in Mountain Vista’s last-second, 31-26 victory over Legend. Vista blew a 19-0 lead, but Akey threw a Hail Mary touchdown pass to Leanna Rivera as time expired.

Akey’s football fixation comes from her dad, Todd, who was a wishbone quarterback at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs. Ariana has played basketball and starred in track and cross country, but football was her first love.

She and Braelynn have hooked up to become one of the most potent duos in the state.

“From the beginning of the season, after I was named quarterback after the first practice, we have built up a lot of trust,” Ariana said. “I always know where she’s going to be, and she finds a way to get open.

“The great thing about Braelynn is that I might throw it to her for 5 yards and then she will turn it into a 20-yard gain.”

Braelynn attributes her yards after the catch to her signature move.

“I can hip dip,” she said.

Hip dip?

“Yeah, she’s really good at dropping her hips as soon as they go for her flag,” Garrett said. “It’s pretty wild to see how she works it during a play.”

Arvada West, led by quarterback Saylor Swanson and star receiver Sara Walker, won last year’s 16-team state championship tournament, defeating Cherry Creek 34-14 in the finals. The Wildcats went 25-0 but lost 25-13 to Mountain Vista in the season opener this fall.

Braelynn played on a club travel team with both of the Wildcats’ stars, but if the two teams meet in Saturday evening’s championship game, that camaraderie will be a memory.

“We’re teammates, but not on Saturday. Not in the championship game,” Braelynn said.

And she has no doubt the Golden Eagles will win Colorado’s first official Class 5A state title.

“It’s going to be amazing. When it happens — not if,” she said.