On Saturday, November 8, Linganore High School (LHS) faced off against the Calvert Cavaliers in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) 1A/2A State Championship at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

In the previous night’s matchups, Linganore, ranked number 3, was victorious against the number 2 ranked Forest Park High School team. The Cavaliers, ranked number 1 also won the night before, taking down number 4 Largo Lions. This led to the Linganore Lancers and the Calvert Cavaliers to face off in the championship on Saturday night.

In the much anticipated state championship, Linganore defeated the Cavaliers by a score of 26-6, a substantial victory. Led by senior quarterback Lexi Petrie, who threw for four touchdowns, Linganore’s offensive attack played a huge role in the victory. Petrie completed two touchdown passes to sophomore Makenna Roberts and two to senior Rachael Hepner.

Junior Kaitlyn Ramos was cheering her team on from the sidelines, as she was injured and out for a majority of the season. Ramos was at a loss of words after the victory.

“It [the win] felt unreal,” said Ramos. “It is something we have all worked hard on all season.”

The game was played in M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, and the Lancers were taken care of well there.

LHS flag football was given an exclusive tour of M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. The team was able to see the locker rooms of the teams
“It was an amazing experience at the stadium, and they cared about us so much,” said Ramos.

Linganore was coming off of an early playoff loss in 2024 and were hunting for a comeback year.

“This year really felt different than last year,” said junior Laila Griffis. “We really have had better teamwork this year.”

Even first-year players, including senior Jordyn Shipley, could tell that this team is special and was bound for success.

“I felt like we were going to be really good coming into the season, and we lived up to expectations,” said Shipley.

In attendance at the game were former Ravens players Michael McCrary, Terrance West and Jermaine Lewis.

History was made at this game, as it was Linganore’s first flag football state championship game. The high school girls’ flag football sport was introduced in 2023, with last year being the first season. Starting with only ten teams, it has expanded to 92 in total. Maryland Girls Flag Football is continuing to grow rapidly. Currently, there are two state championships. Next year, there is expected to be four state championships, one for each classification, 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.

At the start of the 2025 flag football season, junior Laila Griffis was confident in the way the team would perform this year.

“Coming into the season, I could tell this team was going to be very strong,” said Griffis.

The season definitely lived up to the expectations. Shipley believes that team chemistry is a big reason why they went all the way.

“We were really good at just encouraging each other and not getting down on ourselves,” said Shipley.

“I feel like this team, we all just gel together,” said Griffis.

The Linganore girls hope the team will follow up this successful season and their first championship win with another great season in 2026.