September 10th, Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Steelers faced the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. The game quickly got out of hand for Mike Tomlin and his crew. At halftime, the score read 20-7 in favor of the 49ers. For those watching the game in the North Allegheny area, a much needed win needed to come out of this disappointing performance from the Steelers.
This win came from the N Girls’ Flag Football Team.
“We were confident going into it. It was like any other game, just on a bigger field,” NASH senior Maeve Kreidler said.
Girls’ flag football launched in the spring of 2022 under the sponsorship of the Steelers. NA was involved from the start and finished second in the league last year. And by all appearances, the girls look poised to be contenders for the title once again.
On September 10th, the girls were invited to play a game against The Ellis School’s flag football team. From the sidelines, the team was able to view the Steelers play. The first two quarters passed by fairly quickly, as the 49ers dominated the Steelers on both sides of the ball. Both teams marched back into the locker rooms with completely different attitudes — one in pure jubilation and the other hanging their heads in defeat.
Little did it matter for the girls, as they were focused on their game ahead of them, playing on the biggest stage of their young lives.
The stage was set, and the field was ready. Each team would get one possession. Ellis got the ball first. Very quickly, they were overwhelmed by the NA defense. After only a few downs, the girls took over on offense. The girls would quickly display their running ability when NASH senior and High Point soccer recruit Ally Ruiz took the ball into the endzone for a walk-off touchdown.
“It was a great win for our team. Getting the win in front of all those people was an incredible feeling,” senior Addy Celender said.
After only eight minutes of play, the game ended in a final score of 6-0 with NA taking the victory. The teams shook hands in a show of good sportsmanship and halftime ended, as the girls returned to the sidelines to watch the rest of the game.
“It was a great experience,” senior Maddie Hartung said.
At the end of the day, the girls team brought home the victory with an impressive performance with thousands in the audience. A truly unforgettable experience for the NA team, not so much for the hometown professional team.
