It only took a glimpse to identify the potential of Colorado’s flag football Pro Bowlers.
Mountain Vista quarterback Ariana Akey and Legend wideout Lucy Thompson had never played organized flag football before, but a single, fleeting peek into their ability convinced their respective coaches that they would be stars.
For Thompson, that omen came in an exhibition game, when Legend coach Darren Pitzner witnessed her elite athleticism. And for Akey, Mountain Vista coach Garrett Looney saw what she was capable of in her first throwing session.
“In our first preseason training (in 2024), when we started throwing routes to see who our QB would be, (Akey) seriously could throw better than the majority of boys that I’ve coached,” Looney recalled. “She was throwing the ball 50 yards on the dot. It was a no-brainer to hand her the keys to the offense.
“… And with Thompson, having played against her a couple times this year, the first time we saw her on film, she stood out. She was by far the best player we played against the entire year. So it’s exciting these two now get to team up.”
Akey and Thompson were both selected to the NFL FLAG High School Girls Showcase, a game featuring 32 of the best players in the nation that will take place as part of the Pro Bowl Games on Tuesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
After dominating in Colorado, the local superstars get to display their talents on a national stage for the AFC team during the week of the Super Bowl. Looney (Mountain Vista’s play-caller) and Ken Ortega (the Golden Eagles’ defensive coordinator) will be coaching the AFC team.
The Broncos nominated the two athletes, who were chosen by a selection committee following stellar 2025 performances in the state’s second sanctioned season of the sport.
Akey led Mountain Vista to a repeat Class 5A title in another 19-0 campaign. She threw for 4,545 yards and 89 TDs, plus ran for 1,526 yards and 22 TDs. Meanwhile, Thompson led the state with a Colorado record 1,970 receiving yards and racked up 32 TDs as Legend made the championship before losing to the Golden Eagles.
That eye-popping production is all the more impressive considering Akey, who grew up playing on her twin brother’s flag football team as a wideout/running back, didn’t participate in Colorado’s pilot seasons of the sport when she was a freshman and sophomore. And 2025 was Thompson’s first season playing.
The duo got together for a throwing session a couple of weeks ago to hone their chemistry on routes.
“These two are going to be that much further ahead and ready to go (because of that),” Looney said. “With Ariana’s arm and field vision, having Lucy as a weapon to use that teams have to try to defend is going to be an amazing combination.”
Pitzner says there’s no catch that Thompson can’t make as the wideout helped Legend rack up 17 wins. The Titans’ lone losses came to Mountain Vista in the regular season (40-13) and in the championship (48-26).
“She’s capable of high-IQ, toe-tapping sideline grabs, cutting to open space when the play breaks down for the QB to find her, catching it on the run, one-handed catches, high-pointing balls in the end zone,” Pitzner said. “… Just getting to watch her on the (national) stage, it’s going to be a little surreal, because I got a front-row seat to it every day in the fall and she had our team’s jaws dropping all the time.”
The best Colorado has to offer
Akey and Thompson are multi-sport stars at their schools, and both played another sport in the fall while also doing flag football. They are two of the best female athletes in Colorado’s Class of 2026.
Akey also does cross-country, basketball and track, where she competes in the 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter and the 1,600-meter relay. She’s qualified for state in the 400 all three seasons so far, and her relay team won the Class 5A state title last spring.
She has over a dozen offers to play college flag football, and will announce her decision on where to go sometime in the next month or so. It’s a future laid out because she finally gave into Looney’s pestering.
“Initially, I didn’t want to play quarterback,” Akey said. “But I had class with Looney, and he kept trying to convince me. Eventually, it stuck. He believed in me (when I didn’t believe in myself).”
Meanwhile, Thompson plays softball and basketball. The shortstop is committed to play at Nebraska. In the fall, she achieved the rare feat of being first-team CHSAA All-State in both flag football and softball after juggling both sports throughout the season.
Because softball was her top priority, Thompson missed the majority of the Titans’ flag football practices. But every day, she would come to the field after her softball practices ended and work on routes for about an hour with Legend QB Madi Smolen in addition to going over the playbook and film with Pitzner.
“In late July, she came to me and told me she wanted to play both softball and flag,” Pitzner said. “My first thought was, ‘I don’t see that working.’ But the credit goes to (Legend softball coach Kristen) Shirk for being open to it. Lucy got into our preseason camps and it was clear her talent was off the charts.
“But I still wanted to leave it up to our team as to whether Lucy could play with us, because we have a really competitive roster and Lucy was going to be missing so many practices. … The vote was unanimous to let her play.”
While Akey had to juggle her cross-country meets with the Golden Eagles’ games, Thompson found herself balancing the Titans’ softball schedule with her flag football schedule. She missed a couple of flag football games, but said her complicated fall worked itself out.
“The first moment I realized it was possible was (Aug. 20), when we had a doubleheader in softball and then our first football game,” Thompson recalled. “I got to the football game right at halftime. And then the first play I went in, Madi threw a 30-yard touchdown to me. I was like, ‘Wow, this is going to be a great year.’”
Her whirlwind fall included playing in two state championship games in one day on Oct. 25 — for the softball team in the afternoon, and then for the flag football team that evening.
Thompson, who hit .494 with a .589 on-base percentage, five homers and 33 steals in the fall, went 4 for 4 against Broomfield in the softball title. Legend lost 17-7. Then she had six catches for 74 yards and a TD in the flag football title, a game in which Akey stole the show with 365 yards and two TDs by air plus 104 yards and five TDs by ground.
“That day was rough, because I hate losing,” Thompson said. “But looking back at it now and seeing the bigger picture … I’m proud of what both my teams were able to accomplish this year, and for my role in helping them get to those championships.”
On Tuesday, Thompson will get another chance to raise a trophy, with help from Akey. The AFC team gets three two-hour practices in San Francisco ahead of the game, and Looney says he’ll be placing an emphasis on showcasing the Colorado connection.
“We’re going to keep it pretty simple with the (offensive) install, but I guarantee you, we’re going to have some plays and some routes dialed up for Ariana and Lucy,” Looney said. “The whole nation is going to get to see what this Colorado duo can do.”
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