Samiah Knight's Game-Winning Touchdown Leads Eagles to Big 33 Flag Football Championship Victory

Penn Wood's Samiah Knight shines with a leaping touchdown catch, securing a 12-7 win for the Eagles in the second annual Big 33 girls flag football championship at Chapman Field

Members of the Eagles flag football team celebrate after receiving a trophy for a 12-7 win over the Steelers team during the Big 33's second annual girls flag football tournament Sunday at Champman Field. / Josh Rizzo

SILVER SPRINGS TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA – Samiah Knight, a Penn Wood High School graduate, delivered a game-winning leaping touchdown catch to lead the Eagles to a 12-7 victory over the Steelers in the second annual Big 33 girls flag football championship on Sunday at Chapman Field, Cumberland Valley High School. The thrilling win marks the Eagles’ second consecutive championship title in Pennsylvania’s growing girls flag football scene.

A Moment of Clarity on the Field

For Knight, football offers a rare sense of calm and instinctual play. “Most times, football for me is like the only time I don’t second guess or think about anything, I just kind of do,” said Knight, who connected with Lansdale Catholic quarterback Devin VanOsten for the decisive touchdown. Her performance not only clinched the game but also highlighted her readiness for collegiate play at Neumann University next year.

 "Most times football for me is like the only time I don't second guess or think about anything, I just kind of do, " said Knight. “You get used to the style,. This definitely provided some teaching moments from things I didn’t know you could do.”

Eagles coach Tim Gwinnett was beaming as held the trophy afterward. The Eagles’ team won the championship last year and he was proud to see the result in ink.

“We said to them, you are now blazing the path and we are in the second year of what we hope can be a 58-year history,” Gwinnett said. “I told my assistant coach that we wouldn’t touch the trophy until we saw the result. They are always going to have their namerigh here and know who they were.”

Samiah Knight, left, celebrates with an Eagles flag football teammate after scoring the game-winning touchdown against the Steelers team during the second annual Big 33 flag football championship Sunday at Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High School. / Josh Rizzo

A Defensive Battle

The game didn’t feature any turnovers. Steelers quarterback Shay Brown, from Moon High School, spent a lot of time on the run.

Steelers coach Chris Curd wanted to lean on Brown to make good decisions on whether to run or pass. Brown scored the Steelers’ only touchdown on a short run. Curd said Leah Skweres (North Allegheny) is another playmaking option.

“We had a dual threat quarterbackand with the way the rules are for this event, they are able to run as soon as they get a direct snap,” Curd said. “That doesn’t mean we have to run, but Brown gave us an optionfor that.”

Teammates congratulate Shay Brown, center, on scoring a touchdown during the second annual girls flag football game at Champman Field at Cumberland Valley High School. / Josh Rizzo

The game went back-and-forth

Caitlyn Peace (Pennridge) scored first to give the Eagles the lead. The Steelers took their only lead, 7-6, when Adriana Glaze hauled in a one-point conversion following Brown’s touchdown. Knight gave the Eagles the lead back in the second half.

The Steelers lost possession deep in Eagle’s territory late in the game after an assistant coach was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct. While the Eagles didn’t convert, the Steelers took over on with less than a minute remaining and couldn’t score.

“Emotions get high in any competitive situation,” Curd said. “The referees did a great job, there were some questionable things, but there are in every game. It wasn’t the officials' fault, there were things we could have done right in the first half to make sure we did a better job.”

Lansdale Catholic's Devin VanOsten attempts to throw a pass past a Steelers flag football team defender during the Big 33's second annual flag football game Sunday at Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High School. / Josh Rizzo

Growing Girls Flag Football Pennsylvania

Both coaches were eager to say they enjoyed the experience. What they want is for the program to keep growing.

Gwinnett said he has seen a lot of progress in the four years they’ve played the sport in Philadelphia.

“I will be a crusaderto the rest of the state to say they have to add the sport,” Gwinnett said. “When we started it, we didn’t pull girls from other sports. There were a lot of players who wanted to get in on the entry level.”

Curd said he would like to see participation grow outside of the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas. 

“In totality in the state, there are 190 teams altogether,” Curd said. “I think they have 140 out around Philadelphia and we have around 50 in Pittsburgh. We need to get the rural areas involved. There aren’t any teams in District 6, 9 and 10.”

--Josh Rizzo | rizzo42789@gmail.com | @J_oshrizzo