Senior quartet helps Plum flag football team score early-season wins

By: Michael Love
Saturday, April 12, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The Plum girls flag football team worked out and practiced for the better part of three months to be ready for the opening weekend of its second season, a showcase event March 29 involving high school and college teams at Saint Vincent College.

The Mustangs, led by a group of six seniors of seniors, including team captains Selena Boea and Kaylee Rodriguez, tested their mettle in a scrimmage against Gateway before their season-opening 19-12 win over rival Penn Hills.

A 12-0 victory over Greensburg Salem and a tough 7-6 overtime loss to Woodland Hills further solidified Plum’s place in the 2025 spring season.

At 2-1 before a pair of division games against league newcomer Burrell and Propel Braddock on Sunday (April 13), Plum, now one of 50 teams in the league, has put itself in position to challenge for its first trip to the league playoffs the weekend of May 18.

“We had a core group come back from the previous year, and we had some new athletes also come out, including some who play other sports like basketball, soccer,” Plum co-head coach Dr. Fran Sciullo said.

“It was exciting to get out there on the 29th with the showcase kickoff games at Latrobe. It was a beautiful day and evening. That just set the stage for the girls moving forward. They have been working so hard since January. We had nine girls attend the Pittsburgh Steelers Girls Flag Football Jamboree down at the UPMC Sports Complex where they worked drills and learned more about the game. Participation and enthusiasm in practice has been outstanding, and it has showed in our games.”

Plum finished its inaugural season last year 4-6 and missed the playoff tournament.

But Sciullo said the season was one of positive growth that set up good things for his team’s return to the field this spring.

“Coach Jim Horwatt and I went into last year hoping to form a strong base and develop the team and a positive culture,” Sciullo said. “We were satisfied with how the program was lifted off the ground. For a lot of the girls, it was their first time playing any type of organized football like that.

“That group last year will forever be the pioneers for the school district in moving forward this great game to where we are today in year number two.”

The momentum from last year’s start, Rodriguez said, is seen in the increase in numbers this year. There are 22 players on this year’s roster, up from 14 last year.

It allows for a junior varsity team this season, and that JV squad won its first game.

“The girls sense this is something special,” Sciullo said. “The girls, after last year, sensed there was something special here with the opportunities it presents while taking part in the game.

“The attention that girls flag football has drawn not only in the area and in Western Pennsylvania but throughout the state and country, is very special.”

Plum, next year, will be a part of the first year of official sanctioning by the WPIAL and PIAA. They will take over for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles who have headed up girls flag football operations since the start with the leadership of the NFL.

“It caught fire and states picked up on it quickly,” Sciullo said.

Rodriguez, who shared quarterback duties with junior Kailey Burton, last year’s starter, the opening weekend against Gateway and Penn Hills, threw a pair of touchdown passes — one to freshman Kayden Young and the other to sophomore Tamia West — in the games against Greensburg Salem and Woodland Hills.

“I love the responsibility I have to be the quarterback,” said Rodriguez, a wide receiver last year. “We have a lot of versatile players who can help the team from several positions on offense and defense.

“I am really excited for where we are right now and what we can do this season. We learned a lot from last year. We are more understanding of our roles and each of us can best help the team win. The atmosphere in practice and in games is so positive. There is a lot of energy. There is such a strong motivation to win.”

Rodriguez said its fun to have developed rivalries against the likes of Gateway, Penn Hills and Woodland Hills.

West totaled two touchdowns over the first three games, while Boea and juniors Hayden Wawrzyniak and Hannah Woitjen also scored.

Boea led the defense with 11 flag pulls, three pass deflections, three sacks and two interceptions.

Plum will get a chance to host a series of games April 27. The Mustangs will play non-division games against Bethel Park and Clairton. It also will be senior day as Rodriguez, Boea, Zoe Fulton, Mercy Newell, Chloe Quarles, and Angela Malanga will be celebrated.

“That opening weekend was awesome,” Boea said. “The girls had so much energy and power towards our plays. That carried over to the second weekend.

“We came into this second season hoping to grow the team, and we did. It is amazing to see it keep building from there. We have that mission to win and get to the playoffs. That is our goal.”

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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