Girls flag football ‘taking off’ in 1st year as PIAA-sanctioned sport

By: Bill Beckner Jr.


Sunday, April 5, 2026 | 8:18 PM

Latrobe is usually acknowledged as the birthplace {of professional} football.

Mackenzie Livingston would love for it to be recognized as the motherland of women highschool flag football, too.

The new WPIAL sport has caught on quick at Latrobe, whose group has the look of a title contender with a quick-strike model of play, a number of scoring threats and a propensity for having time.

“I think it would be incredible,” mentioned Livingston, Latrobe’s flag coach. “The players, family members and community definitely bring the atmosphere for this to be possible.”

After a number of years of club-level competitors, flag football is a PIAA-sanctioned sport for the primary time. The WPIAL opened with 56 groups aligned throughout 4 sections.

The sport is formally a part of the WPIAL and PIAA spring sports activities season.

“The sport is taking off,” Livingston mentioned. “There are more teams playing than last year and more girls on each team. I have had contact with many college coaches who are recruiting and growing it in that area as well.”

Seven groups hail from Westmoreland County: Latrobe, Kiski Area, Belle Vernon, Monessen, Greensburg Central Catholic, Greensburg Salem and Jeannette.

“The sport is taking off because it is something new, and it gives girls another opportunity to have success in sports,” Kiski Area coach Jason Clouser mentioned. “The girls at Kiski love the annual powderpuff game between juniors and seniors and wanted the opportunity to play competitively. The sport is taking off at the high school level, and colleges are offering scholarship opportunities.”

Belle Vernon athletic director Matt Humbert is on the three-person WPIAL flag football steering committee together with athletic administrators Lance Maha (West Mifflin) and Korie Morton-Rozier (Oakland Catholic).

“Going into the season, there was some uncertainty since many of the rules and details came together late,” Humbert mentioned. “That created a little apprehension about how everything would play out. However, both the teams and officials have adjusted very well. I think the sport is easy to gravitate toward because it provides an opportunity for athletes who may not participate in a traditional spring sport. It’s also simply fun, and that’s a big reason why so many girls are drawn to it.”

Humbert mentioned there are nearer to 50 groups now as a result of some dropped out. But he famous an attention-grabbing development.

“Some smaller-classification schools actually have larger rosters than bigger schools,” Humbert mentioned. “A big factor in that is how well athletic departments and coaches promote the sport and encourage participation.”

‘Exciting and fun’

Latrobe (6-1) is likely one of the highest-scoring groups in the WPIAL up to now. The Wildcats scored 79 factors towards McKeesport.

Livingston not solely coaches the Wildcats, however she can also be the pinnacle coach of the brand new Saint Vincent College girls’s flag group.

She is also the pinnacle ladies basketball coach at Latrobe and by some means finds time to play in grownup flag and basketball leagues.

Coaches agree that it’s the power and pleasure that units the sport aside. Flag football strikes at a quick tempo, with fast passes on quick fields — assume 7-on-7 football on the boys facet however with flag-pulling as a substitute of two-hand tag.

“We have 35 girls on the team, which makes us one of the largest varsity sports at Kiski,” Clouser mentioned. “The girls at Kiski came out for the team because football is exciting and fun. They wanted a team over a year ago and were eager to get things started. We have multi-sport athletes on our team from basketball players, soccer players, volleyball players, cheerleaders, to players who are currently participating in both track & field and football and softball and football.”

Kiski Area has practices later in the day to work round different sports activities’ schedules.

“The entire team is athletic,” Clouser mentioned. “It’s just a matter of teaching them the game of football.”

Livingston is a high-energy coach who looks as if an ideal match as an envoy for the sport. She is a, properly, flag bearer of encouragement, like Humbert was speaking about.

“The coolest part I’ve gotten to watch as a coach is how much fun the players and fans are having at the games,” Livingston mentioned. “The girls are always having a blast out there, and I’ve talked to many community and family members who have said it’s so much fun to watch.”

Latrobe sophomore Natalie Scekeres performs quarterback for the Wildcats. She agrees with Livingston and Clouser’s evaluation that the higher groups may have the higher multi-sport athletes.

Latrobe has a number of softball, basketball, volleyball and soccer gamers on its roster.

“It’s very important to our success,” Scekeres mentioned, “because we are a team full of well-rounded athletes who are not just focusing on one sport. It is also awesome that our coaches at Latrobe allow us to play both.”

How it really works

Getting to know the way video games work is a key for groups and spectators.

• Teams play on 80-by-40-yard fields.

• Quarters are 12 minutes lengthy.

• Teams get 4 downs to cross a delegated zone.

• Points are also awarded for interception returns and safeties.

• Each group makes use of seven gamers, and quarterbacks are usually not allowed to run except the ball is pitched again to them.

• Touchdowns are price six factors, and conversions are one level from the 3-yard line and two from the ten.

• Punting is allowed, however there are not any extra-point kicks.

• Teams can throw for conversions.

“There are multiple positions on the field, both on offense and defense for different types of athletes to be successful,” Clouser mentioned. “You don’t just have to be able to throw or catch a ball. Being able to pull a flag or cover another player makes you a valuable asset to the team.”

Sport sustainability

Last year, Latrobe made the semifinals of the Steelers’ flag league, giving Livingston a sign of what may lie forward.

“When we made it to the final four and the Steelers hosted us for the draft clock reveal, I realized, wow, we are creating something special,” Livingston mentioned. “I think our first home game in history at Latrobe it hit me as well, when we got our team picture under the lights, how special this moment is.”

Humbert doesn’t assume the sport will dwindle as time goes on. Sure, the novelty ingredient is a big cause for the excessive variety of groups, however he doesn’t see flag waning in attraction.

Flag football might be a part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — for women and men.

“I don’t see it doing anything but growing,” Humbert mentioned. “There’s strong national support behind the sport, and its inclusion in the Olympics will only increase visibility and interest. It’s definitely trending upward, and hopefully that growth continues.”

Clouser additionally expects the sport to proceed its uptick.

“I already have over 70 girls signed up at Kiski in our spring flag football clinic for our youth level,” he mentioned.

Group effort

Coaches from different sports activities have gravitated to flag. For occasion, Kiski Area boys head basketball coach Corey Smith is on Clouser’s employees, whereas Greensburg Central Catholic head football coach and athletic director John “JT” Thompson coaches the Centurion ladies.

GCC didn’t subject a softball group this spring however had loads of ladies for flag.

Quarterback, like commonplace football, is the loftiest and oftentimes most vital place.

Clouser is a former Kiski Area quarterback.

“It is cool to see the quarterbacks learning the game,” he mentioned. “The quarterbacks are learning how to read defenses, look off the safety when passing the ball, carry out their fakes, take what the defense is giving them and manage the team. Both of our quarterbacks, Hannah Hill and Olivia Strellec, are understanding the game more every time they step on the field.”

Kiski Area solely started flag football final month. It didn’t have the two-year head begin that many different applications had.

“To watch these girls a month ago not know anything about the sport, to now be able to line up and run complicated plays, understand the rules of the game, and be able to line up in different coverages defensively is amazing to see,” Clouser mentioned. “Watching them compete against teams that have been playing this sport the last three years is outstanding.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter protecting native sports activities in Westmoreland County. He might be reached at [email protected].

Tags: Belle Vernon, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Kiski Area, Latrobe