Newcomers boost North Allegheny flag football in quest to return to title game

By: John Grupp
Saturday, April 12, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Michelle Ruiz was doing her best to convince North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto.

Nearly a decade ago, the NA gym teacher wanted Bozzuto to clear the way to start Powder Puff football at Marshall Middle School.

“Bob was hesitant,” Ruiz said.

Bozzuto was fully supportive of girls flag football, but Powder Puff, the sport’s unregulated cousin, gave him concerns. The high school’s annual Powder Puff activity was combative and potentially dangerous to the kids.

“It was a bloodbath,” Ruiz said of the Powder Puff games. “People were getting hurt. They were going after each other. I said that wasn’t the purpose of me doing it. It’s about (flag football) development. … I promised him if there’s any issues or problems, we won’t do it again.”

Bozzuto agreed, providing the fields, and the middle school teams became popular. Fast forward to 2022, when the Steelers helped form the Pittsburgh Flag Football League, and North Allegheny was ready to join the inaugural six-team season.

“Bob called me into his office and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this,’ ” Ruiz said.

From that unorthodox start, North Allegheny has grown into one of the top flag football programs in Western Pennsylvania. The Tigers reached the league championship each of the past two years, and despite losing almost their entire roster from last year’s 13-1 runner-up, they are 3-1 on the young season under fourth-year coach Ruiz.

“We’re looking pretty good,” said junior running back/linebacker Maddie Williams, one of three returning players. “We are working with a lot of new players. But they are learning pretty quickly.”

The league has grown fast, sprouting from six teams in 2022 to 52 this season.

The Tigers play a six-week regular season with two games each Sunday at a central location. The 7-on-7 games are played width-wise on a traditional football field, allowing for multiple games at once. The Tigers have lost to Moon in the championship the past two seasons. The finals are May 18 at Highmark Stadium.

“I feel like some people might look at flag football as a joke,” said junior middle linebacker Danika Hogan, a third-year varsity player. “It’s a new sport, especially for the girls. But I think that a lot of the schools are very competitive and they are very serious about it. I think that it’s just as competitive and just as tough as the other sports.”

While Hogan plays only flag football, almost everyone on the roster comes from another sport. Many have never played flag football, except for maybe a few middle school Powder Puff games.

“We have soccer players, basketball players, volleyball players, cheerleaders,” said Williams, herself a three-sport athlete. “It’s a mix of everything. A lot of us have played (other sports) together, so we’re used to being around each other. We keep the positive energy.”

Two-way starters are seniors Macey Casten and Williams and juniors Vange Balouris, Mia Bosley and Luci Zagacki.

Sophomore Taryn DeWitt and Bosley have split time at quarterback, and senior receiver Leah Skweres, a first-year player, is one of their favorite targets. Another newcomer, cheerleader Alyssa Coy, is a starting cornerback.

Flag football is one of the country’s fastest-growing emerging high school sports, and when it becomes PIAA-sanctioned next school year, Pennsylvania will be the 13th state to sponsor it.

The Steelers have spurred the growth, contributing about $250,000 to develop the sport in Western Pennsylvania.

But long before the Steelers started writing checks, a determined Ruiz persuaded Bozzuto to OK a sport she had seen flourish during her years down South. It has become a more serious endeavor. Two years ago, the North Allegheny middle schools — Carson, Ingomar and Marshall — officially changed the name from Powder Puff to flag football.

“I feel like now we’re at a point where we are getting a lot more respect,” Ruiz said. “It really helps that it’s a national growth, and the NFL has put its name on it. That’s the biggest part.”

Tags: North Allegheny