Woodland Hills, Latrobe girls flag football programs earn Sunday sweep as Western Pa. team's build programs

The Wolverines cruised past Jeannette and Greensburg-Salem, while the Wildcats needed some late heroics to stay unbeaten

Woodland Hills' Serena Bruce, attempts to elude a Jeannette defender Sunday at Woodland Hills High School. / Josh Rizzo

CHURCHILL, Pa. – Ahmya Stubbs didn’t think of herself as a football player. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to try flag football.

But the Woodland Hills junior gave the sport a try last year.

“At first, I didn’t want to play flag,” Stubbs said. “I was always a cheerleader. At first, I was nervous. Then I got to the game, I liked the competition. As soon as I got the game, I started moving.”

Stubbs, who has helped the Wolverines start 5-1 in the Steelers' Girls Flag Football League, is part of a significant movement in Pennsylvania.

During the past year, more than 100 schools in Pennsylvania agreed to form girls' flag football teams, which put the sport above the threshold for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to sponsor championships.

While the NFHS will still need to develop a unified rule book, the more structured approach to the sport will start during the 2025-26 school year. The earliest the PIAA would hold championships would be during the 2026-27 school year.

Sharon Vazquez coaches the Wolverines. She was apart of two national championship teams while playing tackle football for the Pittsburgh Passion in 2007 and 2015. Vazquez, a defensive back, also played for Team USA in flag football.

“From the first year until now, there’s been tremendous growth,” Vazquez said. “It’s been a lot. To see it progress is very nice.”

Woodland Hills wide receiver Zyla Clark looks to outrace a Jeannette defender during a flag football game at Woodland Hills High School. / Josh Rizzo

Selena Bruce first saw flag football on YouTube

Woodland Hills is second in the East Division behind Latrobe. The Wolverines have successfully recruited athletes from all over the school to help build the program.

Woodland Hills won the section title during the program’s first season in 2023.

Freshman Selena Bruce became interested in the sport after seeing information about it on social media.

“I saw it on YouTube and stuff,” Bruce said. “During the summer, I ended up playing with the boys. A coach recruited me, and I played travel for a little bit.”

Bruce has developed into a solid pass catcher. On Sunday, Woodland Hills was focused on making big plays in the passing game.

The Wolverines rolled past Jeanette 29-0, and Greensburg-Salem, 43-16. Atiyah Clark played quarterback for the Wolverines.

“One of the things is to take what they give us,” Vazquez said. “This week, we were developing our passing game. That was our mission. The first couple of weeks we were still trying to get it together. This week, we were developing our passing game that’s what we came out here to do.”

Ahmya Stubbs, left, tries to twist past a Jeannette defender Sunday at Woodland Hills High School. / Josh Rizzo

Zyla Clark has teamed with Stubbs and Bruce to give the Wolverines plenty of playmaking options. 

“Our team is put in positions to work on their speed,” Vazquez said. “We also work on shifty moves after the catch. That’s what we do at practice alot. They were able to get into space, catch the ball and do some move to get open.”

Latrobe's Brie Havrilla smiles as she looks down at her teammate, Maggie Maiers, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass against Penn Hills Sunday at Woodland Hills High School. / Josh Rizzo

Latrobe's win went down to the wire

Latrobe had to make some adjustments on the fly to stay in first place in the East Division. Quarterback Natalie Scekeres had to leave at halftime of the Wildcats’ matchup with Penn Hills. Carley Berk moved from wide receiver to quarterback seal a dramatic win.

She threw a touchdown pass to Maggie Maiers on the last play of the game to help the Wildcats move to 6-0 with a 19-13 win over Penn Hills.

“We made an adjustment on the fly,” Wildcats coach Mackenzie Livingston said. “That was our closest game yet. It shows they can handle adversity.”

Berk and Brie Havrilla both intercepted passes in the final four minutes to help give Latrobe a few chances to pick up a win. Berk also caught a wild touchdown pass in the first half that was batted high up into air by a leaping Penn Hills player and it fell into her lap.

Livingston, who plays flag football in Indiana, Pa., herself benefits from having a lineup used to her coaching style.

“To be honest with you, 90 percent are my basketball players,” Livingston said. ‘I can handle and know how to coach them. We have a nice mix of other girls. That’s been different.”

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