- The Section V girls flag football playoffs are down to the final four in each of the three classifications.
- The championship games are May 21-22 at Monroe Community College.
This is a season of growth for high school girls flag football, and teams in Section V have reached the semifinal branch of the postseason tree.
There are three Section V classifications. All of the sectional tournaments are down to the final four. These semifinal round games are May 16:
- Class A: No. 6 seed Spencerport at No. 2 Penfield, 7 p.m.; No. 4 Greece Arcadia at No. 1 Webster Thomas, 7 p.m.
- Class B1: No. 3 Monroe at No. 2 Greece Athena, 5 p.m.; No. 4 Greece Olympia/Odyssey vs. No. 1 Batavia at Van Detta Stadium, Batavia, 6 p.m.
- Class B2: No. 4 East Rochester at No. 1 Bishop Kearney, Irondequoit, 5 p.m.; No. 3 Canisteo-Greenwood at No. 2 Gananda, 6 p.m.
Here are the 12 teams who want to advance to a Section V championship game May 21-22 at Monroe Community College:
Penfield Patriots
Record: 9 wins-2 losses-0 ties (9-2)
Top players: Mikayla Mrzywka (offense), Gianna Ciavarri (defense), Sara Giunta (defense), Mallory Pietrzak (offense), Molly Brown (offense).
Coach: Jay Johnson
Flag pulls: Defending Section V Class A champion . . . most impressive game this season, a 25-13 win at Hilton . . . Losses were to Webster Thomas and Greece Arcadia, the other Class A semifinalists . . . Mrzywka, one of the best players in Section V last season, runs the best version of the team's passing attack.
Spencerport Rangers
Record: 6-4-1
Top players: Jorja Gray (offense), Mia Adams (defense), Mac Wood (offense), McKenna Dwyer (offense).
Coach: Marcus Burry
Flag pulls: Won five of last six games, including two shutouts and quarterfinal win over Fairport . . . Rangers can and do score with Gray and Wood throwing passes . . . Adams gets to the ball, to pile up flag pulls or "tackles" or pick off passes . . . Advanced into 2023 Class A tournament, but was one-and-done, eliminated in pre-quarterfinals . . . Roots of the team go back to so-called "powder puff" games, according to Section V girls flag football coordinator Jen Lapinski, who was athletic director at Spencerport.
Webster Thomas Titans
Record: 11-0-0
Top players: Catherine Rogers (offense/defense), Kristina Baller (defense), Olivia Smith (offense), Olivia Bommelje (defense).
Coach: Eric Thurley
Flag pulls: Titans, a sectional finalist last season, one of three undefeated teams . . . Rogers can and has done it all, including a game where she had a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, a touchdown catch, returned an interception for a touchdown and pulled six flags . . . Baller has intercepted 12 passes in 11 games . . . Titans turned a rematch of 2023 Class A sectional final into a 20-6 win over Penfield on May 3 . . . 7 shutouts by defense.
Greece Arcadia Titans
Record: 8-3
Top players: Ashanti Caton (offense/defense); Aimee Turner (offense), Kaitlyn Spring (offense), Samantha Mau (offense), Tara Visca (offense).
Coach: Matt Lapinski
Flag pulls: Titans are on a three-game winning streak, including 18-12 victory over Hilton in sectional opener . . . From an outsider's point of view, Caton appears to be the team's most valuable player . . . Visca can gain yards in chunks and score as a running back . . . 2023 team also was a semifinalist, until stopped by Penfield, 25-20.
Greece Athena Trojans
Record: 11-1
Top players: Anna Foreman (offense/defense), Kate Rayburn (offense/defense), Emily McMichael (defense), Emily Montagliano (offense), Noella Mandell (defense).
Coach: Tim Bruner
Flag pulls: Trojans have not lost since season-opener against Batavia Blue Devils, 38-6 . . . Seven of last eight wins are by shutout, including first sectional game . . . Will there be another #CookieMonster of the game, the team's player of the game award?
Monroe Red Jackets
Record: 9-4
Top players: Jameera Lester (offense), Mariah Crosby (defense), Kamyra Clyburn (offense), Janique Hart (defense), Alasia Douglas (defense).
Coach: Omar Hill
Flag pulls: Six shutouts for defense, including 12-0 in team's first sectional game against Eastridge . . . That stopped a three-game losing streak (Batavia, Edison, Greece Athena, 19-6 May 6) . . . Lester, Hart and Clyburn can run the ball for yardage . . . Won first seven games, including 25-12 over Greece Olympia/Odyssey . . . Stopped in 2023 sectionals by Canisteo-Greenwood, the best team in Section V that season.
Batavia Blue Devils
Record: 12-0
Top players: Anna Varland (offense), Ella Radley (offense), Grace Parker (offense), Kylee Brennan (defense), Jaimin McDonald (defense).
Coaches: Ben Buchholz and Aaron Fix.
Flag pulls: One of three undefeated teams . . . Shut out Monroe and Greece Olympia/Odyssey in back-to-back games . . . Squeezed past Mercy 7-6 in first sectional game . . . Varland has an argument that she is one of the top passers in the section . . . Radley is one of those players who can gain yards rushing in a game where blockers cannot knock down defenders.
Greece Olympia/Odyssey Griffins
Record: 7-5
Top players: Sarah Tawaf (offense), Hannah Roxstrum (defense), Kayla Mattice (offense), Jussara Hunter (offense); Bella Pastrana (defense).
Coach: Patrick Coyne
Flag pulls: Three-game winning streak, a rebound from a four-game losing streak . . . Defeated East High back-to-back weeks, 13-0 in final regular season game and 18-6 during sectionals . . . That was first postseason game in team history . . . Can get the ball downfield on the ground with Tawaf and Mattice . . . Roxstrum intercepts passes and pulls flags.
Bishop Kearney Kings
Record: 10-0
Top players: Greta Brezenski (offense/defense), Chloe Brinson (defense), Allie Hall (defense), Katie O'Gara (defense), Nela Lopusanova (defense).
Coach: Stephanie Strassner
Flag pulls: One of the three undefeated teams in Section V . . . Most impressive win was 31-13 over Canisteo-Greenwood, Section V's best team in 2023 . . . Brezenski scored all of the points, including the after the touchdown attempt, during the team's 7-0 win over East Rochester . . . Lopusanova also has offensive touchdowns among her statistics . . . Hall intercepts passes, which blocks the opponent from scoring and gets the ball back to the team's offense . . . Five wins are shutouts.
East Rochester Bombers
Record: 7-4
Top players: Lily Silva (offense), Payton Kinney (defense), Emma Romach (offense), Meghan Lewis (offense/defense), Modesty Knight (defense).
Coaches: Nicole Caruso and Mark Loria.
Flag pulls: First season in team's history includes first win during the postseason or playoffs, 19-7 over Williamson/Marion . . . Winning streak is at five games and counting . . . Rebounded from a window where the Bombers lost four out of five games after a runaway win in season-opener . . . Silva can pass and catch the ball in the offense . . . Lewis passed for two touchdowns during perhaps the team's most impressive win, 19-13 over Canisteo-Greenwood, a sectional champion last season.
Gananda Panthers
Record: 8-2
Top players: Ella Lathrop (offense), Avery Hoffmann (offense/defense), Lilly Aylett (offense), Lexi Gallina (defense), Lexi Cornell (defense), Alycia Rickman (defense).
Coach: Emily Slentz
Flag pulls: First-year team opened its regular season with a 44-point game, a win . . . High-point is a four-game winning streak that began in the opener . . . Losses were to Bishop Kearney (44-19) and Canisteo-Greenwood (12-6) . . . Also scored 44 points in sectional game . . . Lathrop is the one to watch, because her ability to pass and gain yards as a ballcarrier.
Canisteo-Greenwood
Record: 7-2-1
Top players: Hailey Davis (offense/defense), Kennedy Richardson (defense/offense), Bailey Mullen (defense), Lauren Markel (defense), McKenna Ferris (offense).
Coach: James Freeland
Flag pulls: Chargers are on a roll, winner of their last four games, five of last six . . . Last loss was May 2 at undefeated Bishop Kearney (31-13) . . . Also lost at East Rochester on April 18 . . . Tie was a scoreless game against LeRoy . . . 2023 Section V overall and Class B champion
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