EAGAN, Minn. — Piper Larson took a few steps back and then unleashed her spiral.

The high school junior took several reps at the quarterback station, smoothly throwing a football to peers who rotated through the drill.

Larson was among 80-plus young women who participated Saturday in a high school girls flag football showcase hosted by the Vikings and USA Football. The event provided the athletes, who were nominated by their coaches, an opportunity to demonstrate their skills for local college and USA football scouts through individual drills, 1-on-1s and a scrimmage.

"This was super fun," Larson said following the showcase. "I got to meet a lot of people, and I got to see some friends from other teams around Minnesota I met last year during the season. It was fun. It was super competitive, but everybody was also lifting each other up."

Larson excelled last year during Eagan High School's inaugural girls flag season, racking up 1,866 passing yards and throwing 39 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. She isn't new to the gridiron, though, as she's played multiple years for the boys tackle team — Larson serves as Eagan's starting quarterback for the junior varsity squad and is the varsity backup QB.

She first started playing football during recess in elementary school, during which her parents signed her up for a local flag program. But because flag football at the time wasn't an option in middle and high school, Larson pivoted to tackle.

When the Vikings launched a pilot program for girls flag football in 2024 and the official 51-team league last year, Larson couldn't have been happier. She's even more thrilled that just one year later, the Minnesota high school league has expanded to 104 schools.

"Football is for everybody," said Larson, who last year became the first female from Minnesota to participate in the USA Football Select Bowl. "Your gender shouldn't determine which sports you get to play. There should be equal opportunities, and we can see that in the Olympics and in football being [made available] for both boys and girls."

Larson and others who attended Saturday's showcase could be recruited for the women's team that will represent the United States at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The men's and women's squads will compete in a six-team tournament to be held at LA's Exposition Park Stadium.

Terry Donovan, who coaches the girls flag team at La Crescent-Hokah High School and is a USA Football Master Trainer, is tremendously proud of — and excited about — the rapid growth of flag football across Minnesota.

"Isn't this awesome?" Donovan said, gesturing around the Vikings Indoor Practice Facility. "It was obviously a dream of ours when we helped be on the ground floor, starting with the Vikings and with all their help, to be able to [expand] this and give girls an opportunity. I told them, when we broke down the girls group that we had today, that 10 years from now they're going to look back and have changed the whole landscape of Minnesota high school sports.

"Just to be able to see these girls have more opportunities with the colleges that were here, and big schools like Nebraska have started it, and now you can play for your country and play for an Olympic gold?" Donovan added. "I mean, what greater thing could you possibly have to look forward to?"

Prior to the on-field portion of Saturday's event, the young women were able to hear from C.J. Ham, who encouraged them to keep pursuing their athletic goals and thanked them for laying the groundwork in girls flag football.

"What an opportunity this is — the best of the best, to be able to come out here and potentially represent your country, earn a scholarship, play at the college level. These are the things we all dream of," Ham told the group. "Being a father of two girls, now they have somebody to look up to, and that makes me excited. They have more and more role models, girls like y'all, to look up to and have a dream.

"They can now have a dream of playing football and playing at the highest level, representing our country — something I never got the chance to do," Ham continued. "I just want to commend you on everything you do. Keep working hard. I'm proud of you."

Ham answered thoughtful questions from the athletes, including how to handle hardship, how to break bad habits and how he works to not compare himself to others. He emphasized commitment to craft and discipline, and he also stressed the importance of education.

"Being a student-athlete comes first," Ham noted.

The message was especially pertinent as coaches from Augsburg University, University of Northwestern – St. Paul and the College of St. Benedict were on site to scout and connect with the athletes on their post-secondary plans.

Joe Bartos, recently hired to lead the women's flag team at St. Benedict, attended the event and met with several athletes afterward.

"St. Ben's believes in powering the next generation of young women. That's our mission," Bartos said. "This emphasizes who we are as a campus community, the culture that we have and the culture we want to instill in our flag football program. Being the first head [flag] football coach at St. Ben's is an honor. I'm incredibly excited about it.

"There are tons of great athletes out here," he continued. "All the girls have a wonderful attitude. People are competing; they're getting after it. This was really, really fun to watch. The energy behind flag football in Minnesota is palpable right now.

"Flag football is — I don't want to say 'it's the future' anymore. It's right now. This is football, along with its tackle counterpart," Bartos added. "What an absolutely great time to be a part of it."