Tucson Turf owner and coach Toby Bourguet will have three different age groups representing the Arizona Cardinals at the annual NFL Flag Championships beginning Friday at Canton, Ohio, site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“We’ve been fortunate to be on a very, very long streak of qualifying, and we’ve always been fortunate enough to have multiple teams,” Bourguet is quoted as saying at the Arizona Cardinals’ Web site. “We’re just a really small group of kids, so it’s neat. It’s really neat to be able to do this for so long.”
Tucson Turf, the organization with the most teams participating in the event, will represent the Cardinals in 13U and 15U boys and 18U girls. The organization will also have teams competing in 8U, 9U and 10U boys and 13U girls.
The games will be played Friday through Sunday and can be watched on ESPN, ABC, NFL Network and other platforms.
Tucson Turf, Other Flag Football Teams To Represent Cardinals in Canton https://t.co/QH0jXNoHtf
— Arizona Cardinals Youth Football (@azcardsyouthfb) July 17, 2024
Teams qualify by winning regional tournaments and receiving an invitation to compete against organizations from across the country.
Other organizations representing the Cardinals include 480 Elite playing in the 9U boys division, Rooted Football in 11U and 13U boys, Queen Bees Syndicate in 13U girls and Bad Rabbits in 15U girls.
Tucson Turf has taken part in the NFL Flag Championships since 2012.
Its 18U girls team, led by Bourguet’s daughter Rylen and Marana standout Malaysia Roebuck, is ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to Zorts National Power Index.
The team has an 86-3 record in the last seven months. They have also won 13 out of the last 15 tournament championships in which they competed.
Rylen Bourguet plays quarterback and defensive back and Roebuck, sister of Marana senior receiver Dezmen Roebuck (a Washington commit), is a wide receiver and safety.
The country’s Best 18u 7on7 team!
This award—presented by NFL Hall of Famer @RayLewis & @ZortsSports—honors our team as the nation’s statistically highest-ranked team in 7on7.
Thanks to all involved w/ TTEF and to our generous sponsors @battle @Oakley @gamebreakerhg pic.twitter.com/lvPBDLWr9f
— Tucson Turf Elite Football (@TucsonTurfElite) June 17, 2024
Rylen is a member of the USA Football U20 Select Team that won a championship last week in Los Angeles. She has earned an invite to the 2025 trials.
Bourguet and his wife Vanessa have long been flag football advocates since they competed in the game while attending Arizona State together.
Their oldest sons Trenton, Coben and Treyson each played with the Tucson Turf. Trenton is a quarterback and Coben a receiver with Arizona State. Treyson is a quarterback at BYU after transferring from Western Michigan.
The youngest sons Kendren and Emeron are also competing with Tucson Turf.
Flag football will be an Olympic sport for the first time in 2028 and Rylen — a multi-sport star who won seven state titles at Salpointe — opted to concentrate on making Team USA instead of playing beach volleyball for Arizona State.
Southern Arizona’s number of high school flag football teams has increased from two — Marana and Mountain View — last year at the inception of the sport in the AIA to eight teams this season (Marana, Mountain View, Tucson, Sunnyside, Buena, Nogales, Desert View and Palo Verde).
“What’s happening now is more and more girls are getting a taste of flag football, and it’s just such a fun, fast game,” Bourguet said. “It really opens up for a bigger demographic of kids to enjoy the game of football. It’s nothing against tackle football. It can actually prepare you for tackle football when done correctly. But it’s just a really great sport, and the growth is just going to be amazing the next few years.”
One of Toby Bourguet’s fellow coaches is former NFL defensive back Mo Oliver.
“We’re very consistent within our program with our approach to the game,” Bourguet said. “We do this because it’s a great platform to go out and perform and have a great time.
“Obviously, we go to tournaments to compete at the highest level and hopefully win the tournament. But success will be that everyone has a great time, great experience, no injuries, and we get home safely.”
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