Girls flag football is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the state and has been officially added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
This is the first season that girls flag football is being overseen by the WPIAL as a sanctioned varsity sport.
Quaker Valley has 15 girls listed on its early season roster, including seniors Anna Luiza Bacchi, Clara Herman, Willa Herman and Ella Palmer; junior Hope Waller; sophomores Mia Duckstein, Alayna Gill, Ava Hajok and Natalie Minnock; and freshmen Emanuella Cooman, Emma Duckstein, Ava Scaife, Whitney Smith, Maiya Stelzig and Abigail Yates.
Returning starters for the Quakers include Willa Herman at quarterback, Mia Duckstein at halfback, Hajok at wideout and Palmer at cornerback.
“Our expectations are to compete every week and have fun,” coach Giuseppe Rosselli said. “We are building this program the right way, one day at a time. Our preseason has been focused on fundamentals, conditioning and install.
“Our starting lineup details are still fluid as we finalize things.”
The foundation for flag football includes route running, flag pulling technique, reading defenses and understanding formations.
There are 58 flag football teams in four WPIAL sections this season.
QV is a member of Section 4 along with Aliquippa, Ambridge, Bishop Canevin, Keystone Oaks, Montour, Moon, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Propel Andrew Street, Propel Montour, Seton LaSalle, Steel Valley, Sto-Rox and West Allegheny.
The Quakers’ first home game was scheduled for March 25 against Steel Valley. The top four teams in each section qualify for the postseason.
Champs clash
District champs were set to meet in the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball championship game March 20.
WPIAL champion Sewickley Academy (29-1) was to oppose District 2 winner Old Forge (22-6) at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Sewickley Academy advanced to its second straight state final by defeating Mercyhurst Prep, 64-39, and McConnellsburg, 49-39, in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the state playoffs. The Panthers are 8-0 in the playoffs and won 21 games in a row this season.
Sewickley’s skilled twin towers, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Mamadou Kane and 6-8 junior forward Adam Ikamba, netted 21 and 16 points, respectively, against Mercyhurst Prep.
Drew Steals, a 6-foot sophomore guard, sparked Sewickley versus McConnellsburg with 20 points and was helped out by Kane with 11.
Other impact players for the Panthers include 6-5 senior guard Lucas Grimsley, a 1,000-point career scorer, 5-8 senior guard Caiden Battles, 6-2 senior forward Amare Spencer, 6-4 sophomore forward Ja’mere Guyton, 6-5 sophomore forward Rob Southall, 6-foot sophomore guard Connor Tull, and 6-5 freshman guard Eric Craciun.
Old Forge drubbed previously undefeated District 6 champion United, 64-48, in the PIAA semifinals. United went into the game with a 30-0 record.
Old Forge, which has won nine games in a row, rolled to impressive victories over East Juniata, 79-37, Delco Christian, 62-53, Delone Catholic, 51-39, and United in the PIAA tournament.
Key players for the Blue Devils include 5-11 guard/forward Cameron Parker, a 1,000-point career scorer, 6-4 forward Logan Fanning, 5-7 guard Cam Krushnowski, 5-9 guard Nick Salerno, 5-8 point guard Ryan DeMarco, who suffered a leg injury against Delone Catholic, Arthur Askew, a 6-1 senior guard, and Robby Solfanelli, a 5-10 senior guard/forward. All seven are seniors.
Old Forge is located near Scranton in Lackawanna County.
Training day
Brett Feldman, a senior baseball player at Eden Christian Academy, spends much of his free time training at Battleground Baseball Group, a 20,000-square-foot facility located in Callery, Butler County.
It has a full-size high school turf infield, seven retractable hitting cages, a pitching lab with four mounds and a “strength and movement” center.
“We work on every aspect of the game,” Feldman said.
In the circle
Sewickley Academy’s Charlotte Andrews was named as a WPIAL Class A “player to watch” this season by Trib HSSN.
Andrews, a sophomore pitcher and potential Division I prospect, was 9-4 with one save last year. She racked up 141 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings and finished with a 3.63 ERA.
Quaker Valley’s Grace Carver, a senior outfielder, also was cited as a “player to watch” in Class 3A.
Did you know?
Did you know that Quaker Valley’s boys basketball team scored 60 or more points in 12 games this season?
The Quakers eclipsed the 80-point plateau twice and reached the 70s four times.