With global bragging rights hanging in the balance, a Colorado connection came through.

At the USA Flag World Championship in Tampa in January 2023, the Apex women's team, featuring quarterback Lacey Abell and wideout Sarah Massucci, trailed in the second half and faced a critical fourth-down conversion. On the play, the Arvada West co-head coach was pressured, rolled right out of the pocket, and fired to Massucci on a dig route downfield.

Massucci made an incredible snag, Apex scored on the drive, and the club's first world title underscored the Lakewood residents' rise to the highest level of American flag football.

"That was a point where it was crunch time, and that catch was a momentum-shifter," Abell said. "It was a big deal to make that conversion, and we did it because of the chemistry we've developed over several years, hundreds of games and countless hours of training together.

"It was a cool moment that sort of summarized our bond in this sport, because I honestly don't know where either of us would be in flag football without the other."

Massucci moved to Colorado from Oklahoma in 2017, and Abell came from her native Wisconsin a few years later. The transplants met at a co-ed rec league flag football game in 2021, where they quickly realized their talent was far beyond the level of the everyday Joes and Janes of a social league.

In the time since, Abell and Massucci stair-stepped their way in the flag football world together. From rec, they played together on Lace Up, a 5-on-5 tournament team. Then they joined the 7-on-7 travel team of the Denver Gay Lesbian Flag Football League, the Mile High Club, and also united with other top-level talent on Apex, a 5-on-5 travel team.

That journey led them both to the USA Football National Team. Abell, 31, made the team as an alternate in 2024, and then Massucci, 35, made the team as an alternate this year.

That success makes the dream of making the U.S. Olympic roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Games within reach.

"It's improbable that we'd both end up moving here, we'd meet, we'd end up playing on these teams together and it would click the way it has," Massucci said. "Our friendship has been really helpful for both of us to have somebody working at that same level with you, who knows the game, who's trying to get to the same place, who's familiar with the expectations of the national team.

"... I would've never imagined this when I was playing in the social leagues six years ago that I would be on the (national) team, even as an alternate."

In a sport that's now booming at the high school level -- Colorado became the 11th state to sanction it last year -- Abell and Massucci took differing roads to get to this point.

Abell did not play organized sports as a kid or in high school, but fell in love with football in backyard sessions throughout her upbringing in Sheboygan, Wis. She won the Punt, Pass, & Kick contest in her age division in Wisconsin three times, with the first of those resulting in a halftime appearance at Lambeau Field at 9 years old.

By the time Abell was 17, she was moonlighting as a QB in tournaments at Hmong festivals in Wisconsin. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she got into rugby, making the Wisconsin U23 select team. Even after Abell moved to Colorado, flag football wasn't initially her sole focus. She played wideout/running back for the tackle football Mile High Blaze for two years, winning the Women's Football Alliance's Division II national championship with the team in 2022.

"I've always been in love with this game, but there were never bona fide opportunities for me in it as a kid," Abell said. "Growing up, it was me playing against a bunch of boys. Any boy who was new to our pickup games, they would often take it easy on me until I burned them with a TD pass or catch. After that, it was on. ... It's stuff like that and my (zigged-zagged) journey to this point that makes playing now so satisfying."

Massucci played basketball and softball in high school in Kansas and then got into intramural flag football at Oklahoma State. By the time she joined a rec league upon moving to Denver, she was the only woman in the co-ed league who men had to cover.

While Abell and Massucci grew together as players, they coached together, too. Abell was the head coach and Massucci an assistant for Arvada West Wildcats team that made the Class 5A title game last fall. Massucci stopped coaching this year due to time constraints, but Abell remains on the Wildcats' staff in her third year in the program.

Both players had a significant effect on one of the top young talents that Colorado's produced in the sport, Sara Walker. The wideout/safety graduated from Arvada West in May and now plays at Wingate University in North Carolina.

Walker was invited to USA Football National Trials last spring along with Massucci and Abell.

"Having them in my life has made me progress so much quicker in this sport," Walker said. "I definitely consider them my mentors. They're not afraid to point out my flaws, be technical with me, help me take time with the small details. I've been spoiled to have two great players (show me the ropes)."

When it comes to the work ethic required to succeed in a sport where the talent pool gets drastically deeper every year, Abell and Massucci set the bar for others, says Jodie Turner. She is the former commissioner of the Denver Gay Lesbian Flag Football League, the current director of tournaments for the National Gay Flag Football League and coaches the duo on the Mile High Club.

Abell and Massucci balance intensive training and travel schedules with their day jobs in physical therapy and IT, respectively.

"Every Sunday Sarah, Lacey and a couple of other women are out there running sprints, running routes for hours after we have our early-morning practice," Turner said. "That's the level of commitment it takes to be elite in this era of the sport. It's made Lacey a better QB. It's made Sarah into a national-level athlete."

Turner recalled one of Massucci's first tournaments with the Mile High Club when she was playing both ways at wideout and defensive back. She suffered severe muscle cramps. But instead of sitting out, she chugged pickle juice between plays. Abell has a similar toughness, Turner says.

"Sarah was really cramping but was somehow still making interceptions, making great catches," Turner said. "She refused to come off the field. That right there embodies their spirit of the game. Lacey, same thing -- she was supposed to quarterback for us in a tournament in Hawaii a few years ago, and broke her hand playing tackle a couple weeks before the tournament. But she still played receiver with a broken hand and was one of the best receivers out there."

Turner expects the Lakewood duo to bring the same edge for the Mile High Club's most important games coming up at the NGFFL's Gay Bowl XXV on Oct. 3-5 in San Diego.

After that, Abell and Massucci will turn their attention to the 5-on-5 circuit playing for both Lace Up and Apex. The USA Flag National Championships are in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 21-23, then the 2026 World Championship -- where Lace Up and Apex will be favorites -- are Jan. 14-18 in Tampa. Then, the duo will focus on preparing for the USA Football National Trials in March.

The current USA Football roster features players as young as 19 and as old as 44, the age of QB Vanita Krouch, the most decorated women's flag football athlete ever. Abell will be 34 at the time of the Olympics, and Massucci will be 38. But they're out to prove they've still got it in the lead-up to the L.A. Games.

Massucci sees the bigger picture for the sport, too, and she's more than satisfied with that vision.

"L.A. '28 is something we've definitely had in the back of our minds, but realistically, that's three years out," Massucci said. "Obviously, it would be awesome to be on that team. But the trials in six months, that's what I'm focused on, because making the team each year means you're one step closer to making it for the Olympics.

"But beyond (me and Lacey), hopefully flag football is not just in the Olympics for 2028. I want to see it there year after year. The future is really bright for flag football, and I'm glad I got to even be at the level where I'm at today."

What to watch for over the last month of the season leading up to the Class 5A and 4A championships Oct. 25 at Trailblazer Stadium.

1. Mountain Vista's firepower. The top-ranked defending Class 5A champions look untouchable so far, with a 10-0 record and plus-340 point differential. Star QB Ariana Akey, who has been unstoppable, has thrown for a state-best 2,210 yards and 42 TDs.

2. Arvada West's revenge. The Wildcats, led by co-head coaches Lacey Abell and Deven DelReal, won the unsanctioned title in '23 before losing to Mountain Vista in last year's first sanctioned championship. Their two losses this year are to Vista and Ralston Valley.

3. Ralston Valley's swagger. The Mustangs split two nailbiters with Arvada West this season and can make a deep playoff run. QB Kailyn Korkus has thrown for 1,745 yards. Wideout Ashlyn Callahan leads the state in yards (773) and is tied for first in points (95).

4. Remember the Titans. After Legend lost to Mountain Vista in the 2024 semifinals, the Titans are dangerous again. Wideout Lucy Thompson is averaging 115.8 receiving yards and is tied with Callahan and Denver South's Asha Daniels for the TD lead at 15.

5. The Ravens' star. Speaking of Denver South, Daniels is the real deal and easily the best player in DPS. She competed in the USA Flag Football Select Bowl over the summer, and the receiver is lighting it up with 485 receiving yards, including 12.8 yards per catch.

Lakewood residents Lacey Abell, Sarah Massucci pushed each other to become two of the best flag football players in America