The College Flag Football finals concluded on Thursday with the crowning of the 2025 NAIA and NJCAA champions. Ottawa (KS) defended its NAIA crown while Florida Gateway (FL) did the same in the NJCAA bracket. Let's recap the action from the three games played on Thursday.

Milligan Takes NAIA B Bracket

Milligan University (TN) won the NAIA's B Bracket against William Woods (MO) to start the action on Championship Thursday. The Lady Buffs began the game with a 61-yard touchdown pass by Bridget Keyser to Yasmin Lott and never relinquished the lead. Keyser connected with Krista Quinn later in the quarter to push the lead to 14-0.

William Woods made a push late in the first half when Kennedy Vannoy returned a deflected pass 30 yards for a touchdown. The Owls made another incursion into Milligan territory late in the half, but time expired before they could see the drive out. Milligan held a 14-6 lead at half and made it a 22-6 lead in the third quarter when Keyser threw her third touchdown pass of the game to Ashton Whearley from 11 yards out.

William Woods came up with a second interception and the offense capitalized on it in the fourth quarter. Makenzie Hicks found Olivia Perkins for a 16-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 22-12. Milligan would answer once again with Keyser's fourth TD pass of the day, this one a 19-yard pass to Sarah Rankhorn. Milligan took a 28-12 lead, stopped a late drive by William Woods, and kneeled out the game.

William Woods finished its inaugural season with a 15-8 overall record. Makenzie Hicks threw for 201 yards and a TD while Evonne Bruestle, Olivia Perkins, Kennedy Vannoy, and Samantha Menard had 40+ receiving yards each.

Milligan finished the season 21-4 in its best campaign in school history. Three of the four losses came by a field goal or less. Bridget Keyser threw for 233 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Tatiana Buno led the team with 7 flag pulls, including one for a 10-yard sack, and two pass breakups.

Florida Gateway Makes it Three Straight NJCAA Titles

Florida Gateway College scored early and often on its way to a 68-13 victory in the NJCAA Championship game against Daytona State (FL). The Timberwolves held a 54-0 lead at halftime thanks to three offensive touchdowns by Tremesha Harris and three interceptions returned for a score by London Jenkins.

The second half didn't feature as much offense from FGC as they scored 21 points but Daytona State hit a big pass play in the third quarter and had a pick six of their own to put some points on the board.

This marked the first matchup of conference opponents in the NJCAA's flag football championship history. Florida Gateway had previously defeated Hesston (KS) in the two previous championship seasons. Daytona State finished the season 10-8 and reached its first NJCAA title game.

FGC was dominant in its four days in Missouri, as the Timberwolves only allowed 19 points all tournament while scoring 273 points. FGC finished 18-3, ending the season on a 9-game streak en route to the NJCAA title.

Ottawa Wins Fifth NAIA Championship

The final matchup of the day saw Ottawa (KS) defeat Keiser (FL) 34-20 to win its fifth straight NAIA flag football championship. Ottawa is the only team to have claimed the title in the five-year history of the sport at the NAIA level. The two teams exchanged scores in the first half with Ottawa holding a 13-12 margin at half.

Ottawa scored on its first possession with Madysen Carrera finding Jaida Bayron for an 8-yard touchdown. Keiser answered with a 2-yard pass from Haylie Young to Ashlea Klam on their first drive. Ottawa responded on its second drive with another score, this one courtesy of Carrera running the ball in from a yard out. After exchanging punts, Keiser scored late in the first half with Young completing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Chloe Griffin.

Ottawa's defense broke the game open in the second half by intercepting Keiser four times, including the opening three possessions. Jukanie Washington intercepted the second pass of the half, followed by Carrera's TD pass to Addison Orsborn two plays later. On Keiser's second drive, Cynthia Homs picked off Young, followed by another touchdown. This time it was Tatiana DosSantos from three yards out.

Keiser's third drive of the half had a similar ending: an interception. Homs deflected the pass in the air and Washington was there to intercept it. Ottawa was unable to add to its 27-12 lead. Keiser opened the fourth quarter with Janasia Wilson sprinting for a 23-yard touchdown after the pass by Young. The two-point conversion made it 27-20 but Ottawa answered back once more with Carrera lobbing the ball over the oncoming rushers to Orsborn, who waltzed in for the score. Ottawa intercepted Young for the fourth time on the ensuing drive thanks to Mya Quinn and would go on to win 34-20.

Keiser dropped to 20-2 overall on the season and lost in the NAIA Championship game for the second straight year. Haylie Young threw for 282 yards and 3 touchdowns while throwing 4 picks. Janasia Wilson had 13 catches for 97 yards and a score, Ashlea Klam recorded 76 yards and a touchdown on 6 grabs, and Kennedy Foster finished with 5 receptions for 46 yards. Sa'Mya Bryant led the defense with 7 flag pulls.

Madysen Carrera led the way for Ottawa with 221 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air, while adding another 37 yards and a score on the ground. Tatiana DosSantos was the game's top receiver with 15 catches for 110 yards, setting a new NAIA single game record. Cynthia Homs led the team in flag pulls with 10 (and an interception) while Si'Naya Glover had 8 flag pulls. Jukanie Washington had two of the four picks, and Mya Quinn had the final one.

Ottawa completed its undefeated season with a 23-0 mark and has won 32 in a row dating back to the 2024 season. The Braves' most recent loss came against Kansas Wesleyan on March 28, 2024, in an 18-13 regular season game. There were several games during the winning streak that nearly went the other way, including the quarterfinal and semifinal matchups on Wednesday. Ottawa went to double overtime against Kansas Wesleyan in the quarterfinal but won 26-25 and played a second double overtime game in the semifinal a few hours later against Thomas (GA) but won that matchup 19-13.