AOTW: North Pole duo to play in NFL Flag Football Showcase at Pro Bowl

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Two members of state champion North Pole flag football team will represent Alaska at an upcoming flag football event hosted by the NFL.

North Pole High School Seniors Tiahna Guzman and Camryn Williams were among some of the top players in the country invited to play in the inaugural NFL Flag High School Girls Showcase in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

“I was actually really shocked,” Guzman said. “It is a great opportunity, I am really excited.”

“I feel like everybody is super excited for us, our coaches especially, a lot of our teammates too,” Williams added “I am more excited to prove to my coaches that we made it.”

The flag game at Camping World Stadium will air live on ESPN at 9 a.m. Alaska time leading up to the 2025 Pro Bowl featuring the NFL’s best.

North Pole, a town ironically 20 miles southeast of Fairbanks and unironically the home of Jolly Ole’ Saint Nick, will have its presents known in Florida with two standout athletes taking the field for the NFC against the AFC.

Williams was a defensive staple for the champion Patriots, roaming the field as a linebacker and pulling 30 flags while also helping out in coverage.

“When I first heard of it, I didn’t know anything of it, I didn’t know it was nationwide, let alone here,” Williams said of her introduction to flag football. “Seeing at that growth, especially with women’s sports is very inspiring as well, especially when there is a lot of negativity with football, like women shouldn’t play football, I just think it is super cool to see women take the lead, especially in this sport.”

Guzman was the North Pole’s number-one weapon on offense as the team’s leading rusher and receiver, compiling more than 1,000 total yards and 12 touchdowns. In her senior season, she tallied 648 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground while catching 27 passes for 483 and two more scores for the 15-1 Patriots.

Guzman will join a select few Alaskans who have gone on to play collegiate flag football, committing to Bryant & Stratton College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

”I definitely do want to inspire upcoming seniors or people coming into high school to play flag football, it’s an easy way out, just work hard,” Guzman said. “I really do hope to inspire a lot of girls.”

Alaska was one of the first states to adopt high school flag football around 2004, while North Pole High School picked up the sport about a decade ago. While most eyes were on the Anchorage-area schools at the first-ever sanctioned Alaska High School Flag State Championship this past fall, it was the program from the Interior that turned heads, winning three straight games to hoist the inaugural state trophy.

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