Flag football on the rise in the region
WPIAL to host first championship in May
When the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association approved flag football as an official spring sport for females, paving the way for district and state championships, Ryan Huzjak applauded.
The father of four daughters, Huzjak is the senior vice president of business operations for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also coaches the Upper St. Clair girls flag football team.
“At least in my household, my daughters all grew up watching football but playing other sports,” Huzjak said. “So it’s a great opportunity for all girls to come out and play a sport that they’ve watched and that their families build habits and rituals around in Western Pennsylvania.”
In flag football’s inaugural year, the WPIAL consists of 55 teams divided into four geographical sections. The WPIAL will hold its first championship tournament for flag football this spring. First-round playoff games are scheduled for May 5. The semifinals and championships will be played on May 7 at Upper St. Clair High School.
“The emergence of girls flag football has been a great thing,” said Mt. Lebanon athletic director John Grogan. “It has provided another avenue for girls to participate in sports and is really exciting to watch. I’m looking forward to the upcoming playoffs and watching the continued growth of the game, which will become even more competitive down the road.”
Mike Rost agreed with Grogan. He shares coaching duties with Shawn Curren at Mt. Lebanon, which has had a flag football team for three seasons.
“The growth in our program and within the WPIAL and PIAA has been astounding,” Rost said.
Within its three years of existence, USC has been atop of the action.
In 2025, the Panthers won a title in the then Girls’ Western Pennsylvania Flag Football League, unseating two-time defending champion Moon, 12-0, in the championship game played at Highmark Stadium.
This spring, USC is undefeated. They shared the Section 2 lead with arch rival Mt. Lebanon. Both teams were undefeated before their showdown on April 25 and playoff bound as the top four teams in each division advance to the WPIAL tournament.
Being on top poses its own problems even in a fledgling league. After a tough win against Bethel Park, 27-19, Huzjak reminded his players of the target they have on their back and of the progress the opposition is able to make because of advances in technology.
“Now that games are on film, which they weren’t last year, and we were on TV last year, I think being the team that won it, you have to expect that teams are going to be prepared for you,” Huzjak said. “They try to learn your schemes. So that’s something we should expect and we need to be ready.”
Huzjak wasn’t prepared for the interest and growth the USC program has experienced. Since its inception, the program’s numbers have swelled. This spring, 38 girls tried out for the team. So, a JV team was created.
“Flag football has already taken off here at St. Clair,” Huzjak said. “We had more girls out than we ever expected. We had to find a way so that we didn’t lose any of those girls from the program.
“It’s been a great experience,” he continued. “It’s been a real pleasure teaching the game to them, and a real pleasure coaching them.”
Flag football has attracted first-time participants as well as seasoned veterans, who play multiple sports. For example, Huzjak not only coaches his daughter, Mia, his roster is replicated with soccer players like Avery Bayer, Chloe Bird, Gianna Cardello, Anelise Castrodale and Anelise Castrodale as well as basketball players such as Ryan Prunzik.
“Those girls pick up the game right away,” Huzjak said. “The hardest thing, I think, though is, a lot of those sports demand a lot of the kids time year round. So I try to be flexible and allow them to maintain their club sports commitments and still play flag football.”
For Prunzik, the spring is the offseason so she picked up flag football as her second sport. A standout point guard on the basketball team, she is being recruited by several Division II schools as well as Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey and Assumption College in Boston.
That all of her friends played the game and that Huzjak coached her in grade school factored in Prunzik’s decision to pursue flag football.
“So, I thought I’d give it a shot,” she said. “I’m super excited and happy that I did. It’s so much fun. It’s my chill sport from basketball but it’s also serious.”
Prunzik has made some serious contributions to the team’s success. For example, in the victory over Bethel Park alone, she scored twice and picked off two passes. Her pick-6 sealed the win against the Black Hawks.
“I love playing defense because it’s in the open field and I can look to get the interceptions to help my team,” she said. “In basketball, it’s the same kind of scene as seeing the field. Both are super fun and there is a correlation between them, seeing the field and seeing the players and knowing what you need to do and the effort you give out there.”
Prunzik said that flag football offers the same rewards as basketball – team unity, lasting friendships and memories – but with an added twist.
“Football’s always been a men’s sport, but for girls, I think this is a great opportunity and that it’s developing. For some of the girls that always wanted to play football, they can get on the field, and some are playing in college now. So, I think it’s awesome.”
Prunzik also predicts the game will grow exponentially as men’s football has.
“Football is really overpowering a lot of sports,” she said. “While (flag) is not that big right now, it’s going to grow and I think that’s great. It’s awesome seeing a lot of people coming to games and watching. It’s only going to increase interest and grow the sport.”