Gateway flag football team continues unbeaten run

By: Michael Love
Sunday, May 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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After Week 3 of the high school girls flag football season on April 28, Gateway stood tall in the East division at 6-0.

The Gators scored 108 points in those six games, an average of 18 per game while giving up just 14 points.

“We knew that we had the potential to be a good team this year,” Gateway coach Haley Adams said.

“As the weeks have gone on, the girls have really been putting it all together. They are focused on continuing to win and being ready for the playoffs.”

Gateway shut out Jeannette and Penn Hills in Week 3 to remain at the top the division ahead of Woodland Hills (5-1) and Penn Hills (4-2).

Adams said the second-year team is producing not only on offense but on defense with a trio of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

The Gators started the season April 14 with an 18-6 win over Penn Hills and a 20-8 triumph against Propel Braddock Hills.

Gateway then posted shutouts of Plum (20-0) and Woodland Hills (6-0) on April 21 before taking down Jeannette, 36-0, and Penn Hills, 8-0, at Jeannette.

In the win over the Jayhawks April 28, senior co-captain and starting quarterback Maia Jones threw six touchdown passes.

“That was pretty awesome to see,” Adams said. “It was a really good game for the girls. The offense was really clicking.”

Coach Adams appreciated her team’s defensive effort in the win over a tough Penn Hills team. Gateway scored the game-winning touchdown with about two minutes to play.

“Penn Hills is a pretty good team,” Adams said.

“They are one of the only teams to score on us. They played us tough. We started with the Jeannette win, so we were rolling heading into the Penn Hills game. I loved how the girls responded knowing that it wasn’t going to be an easy game. I never had a doubt in my mind that we were going to win. We scored late, but it was better late than never. We then had a really huge stop on defense.”

Gateway was to return to Jeannette on Sunday for a rematch against Propel and a division matchup against Greensburg Salem.

The Gators will conclude the regular season May 12, at Woodland Hills with a 1 p.m. start against the Wolverines before a rematch with Jeannette at 2.

“The girls are looking forward to playing Woodland Hills again. That should be a pretty tough game,” Adams said.

“It will go a long way in determining our final seeding from the division.”

Jones owned 15 passing touchdowns through six games, while senior Danaeja James had six receiving TDs and a pair of pick-6s. Sophomore Izzy Brown rushed for five scores, and senior Na’Sha Luster recorded four sacks in the Penn Hills shutout.

Adams said before Sunday’s games at Jeannette that Gateway was in a pretty good spot to wrap up one of the three league playoff spots from the East division.

Fifteen teams — three from each of the five divisions — will meet for a one-day playoff tournament May 19 at Carnegie Mellon.

Gateway was one of only four teams out of 33 in the league — Moon (6-0), Upper St. Clair (4-0) and Shaler (5-0) being the others — who were undefeated after Week 3.

Moon led the league in points, averaging a whopping 32.3 over its six games. The Tigers, like the Gators, also were stingy on defense, giving up 16 total points.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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