FOXBOROUGH — Leominster senior Melina Montalvo celebrated her 18th birthday in style.
Montalvo and her Blue Devil teammates walked off the Gillette Stadium turf as champions Friday night after winning the inaugural Patriots girls’ high school flag football championship.
The three-round, single-elimination tournament featured teams from eight schools — Leominster, along with St. Mary’s (Lynn), Fitchburg, Peabody, Ayer-Shirley, Woburn, Needham, and Chelsea, that competed in a league sponsored by the New England Patriots Foundation.
Founded in April, the league afforded young girls the opportunity to play football at a high school level and expand women’s flag football across New England and the United States. Each team in the league was provided a $5,000 grant by the Patriots Foundation, uniforms by Nike, and equipment from USA Football.
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With wins against eighth-seeded Chelsea (38-0) and No. 5 Ayer-Shirley (28-0), the top-seeded Blue Devils cruised into the championship game, where they edged No. 2 St. Mary’s, 13-12, in the final round.
The first-ever New England Patriots girls high school flag football champions have been crowned ❤️💙
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 17, 2023
Congratulations, Leominster High School Blue Devils! pic.twitter.com/prpMog7c10
Each team shouted as they scored, but no cheers rang as loudly through the stadium as the Blue Devils’ chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ that immediately followed their victory.
“I’ve been playing flag since I was in sixth grade. I never thought my high school would have a team for girls. Football is a boys’ sport, so it’s just so cool,” Montalvo said. “It’s definitely something I won’t forget.”
At the start of the tournament, each team sprinted out of an inflatable Patriots helmet to the tune of ‘Crazy Train’ and were welcomed by the Patriots cheerleading squad and Pat Patriot. The athletes gathered at center field for an opening ceremony featuring Boston Renegades quarterback Allison Cahill and defensive line Whitney Zelee, who spoke of their own experiences as female football players.
“I played flag football from sixth grade to eighth grade, but there was no girls’ league, so I was the only girl in the boys’ league,” Cahill said. “That there are eight teams here with full rosters is just awesome to see.”
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For many of the players, the tournament was a dream come true — flag football was not approved as a sport by the MIAA.
“To have the opportunity to play and participate in something like this at the high school level is huge,” Zelee said. “These young women are pioneers, and they don’t even realize it yet.”
Julia Yohe can be reached at julia.yohe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @juliacyohe.