Latrobe sophomore quarterback Natalia Scekeres faces a lot of first-and-10 situations.
She and her teammates will get their first playoff challenge this week.
Scekeres and the high-scoring Wildcats are champing at the bit and ready to move the sticks in their postseason debut, a historic marker for a sport sanctioned or the first time by the PIAA.
The first WPIAL flag football playoffs will begin Tuesday night with 16 teams taking on a new postseason challenge. Latrobe (11-1) will face Woodland Hills (11-2) in the Section 2 “region” at 6:30 p.m. at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium in Monroeville.
“I’m looking forward to the new setup of the bracket and competing in a new season where everyone is 0-0,” Scekeres said. “I have confidence that we can make some noise and a great run.”
The top four teams in four sections made the playoffs. Each section has a region on the bracket, with 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 first-round matchups leading into the quarterfinals.
Latrobe is the second-place team from Section 3. The Wildcats are the only team from Westmoreland County to make the playoffs.
“I’m excited just on the simple fact of how fast this sport grew and getting another shot at our section opponents,” Latrobe coach Mackenzie Livingston said. “We are a contender because we will have our full team for once. All players should be there for the game, which has only happened once this entire year and that was this past week. So it will be exciting to see our ability with all of our players in attendance.”
Latrobe, which shares athletes with other spring sports teams, including softball, already has one win over Woodland Hills.
The Wildcats beat the Wolverines, 19-13, as Scekeres threw three scoring passes: to Emry Bridge, Grace Woitkowiak and Sophia Drnjevich.
Teams play on 80-by-40-yard fields and quarters are 12 minutes.
Flag football is very similar to boys’ 7-on-7 competition.
Points are rewarded for touchdowns, conversions (1 point from the 3-yard line, 2 from the 10), interception returns and safeties.
Quarterbacks are not allowed to run unless they get the ball on a pitch back.
Latrobe is allowing only 12 points per game. Its only is to undefeated Plum, 31-14.
Plum, the top seed in Section 3, and Latrobe could get a rematch in the quarterfinals, also played Tuesday.
Plum (13-0) opens against Oakland Catholic (9-3) at 5 p.m. at Gateway.
Scekeres has 38 touchdown passes, 19 of them to Morgan Maiers, and Maggie Maiers has 11 TD receptions.
Mya Wisniewski has been the T.J. Watt of the defense. She had eight flag-pull sacks in one game.
“We can beat anyone with our full team in attendance if we play to our best ability,” Livingston said.
The semifinals and championship will be Thursday at Upper St. Clair.
There are not PIAA playoffs yet for flag football.