FLAG FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEWS
Two Sectional Champions in girls flag football will be crowned tonight at Sweet Home High School. The Class A title game features Kenmore against Orchard Park, then Clarence and Williamsville South meet for the Class B championship.
Kenmore flag football seeks sweep of Orchard Park in Class A title game to cap impressive inaugural season
In their inaugural season, Kenmore, who combined East and West to become the Devil Dogs, went undefeated in league play, with a 14-2 overall record, to claim the top seed in the Class A playoffs. Head Coach Dan Hannon went through the waves of expectations through the first few games of the season, while knowing he had a special roster put together.
I knew we'd have phenomenal athletes, and then you come out your first game, and you wallop Will North, and you know, I was already getting my State Championship ringside at Jared. Then we lost the next two- the best thing that could have happened. Looking back, we're two plays away from being undefeated. But I think the best thing that could have happened were those losses early on, it kind of reset us.Kenmore HC Dan Hannon
Steady has been Kenmore’s motto since day one: “close the fist and be ready to pack a punch come Sectionals.” As the number one seed, the Devil Dogs have shutout both of their opponents in the postseason, defeating Niagara Falls then West Seneca by a combined score of 56-0. While just an eighth grader, Ryan Filbert has been turning heads all season for her play on the Kenmore defensive line, ranking in the top ten in Section VI tackles for loss and sacks.
Her raw athleticism has worked out great, because we originally started her out at corner just to try to utilize her athleticism. But there's a little more thinking that goes on with that. Once we moved to the line and said, ‘Okay, go get the quarterback,’ it kind of changed her whole season. And now teams are keeping three girls to try to block Ryan. It doesn't matter, she still gets pressure, which allows everybody else to sit back.Kenmore HC Dan Hannon
Offensively, Kenmore boasts two quarterbacks who split time, seniors Addisyn Van Dewater, and Isabelle Bourgeault. While dual quarterbacks may be viewed as a reason for animosity within the team, Coach Hannon made clear that the familial culture of the Devil Dogs has been eye-opening in the ways the players support each other.
It gets me emotional to think about how the loudest girls on the team when the reserves come in are starters who are cheering them just as loud… Usually, if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any. We have two starting quarterbacks that are best friends, and feed off each other, and root for each other, and help each other. A lot of teams yell ‘family’ when they break the huddle. This team embodies it more than any team I've ever been around.Kenmore HC Dan Hannon
One of the Devil Dogs’ 14 wins this season came at Orchard Park in late April, defeating the Quakers 13-0 in a Sectional Championship precursor. A pair of wide outs, senior Sarah Seyfang and sophomore Mia Colosimo, have had defenses on their heels all season, combining for a total of 23 touchdown receptions, including one against the Quakers. Coach Hannon says that game was even closer than the box score shows.
We've struggled to move the ball. They missed by inches two or three chunk plays. That game swung on two or three plays. That's a very good football team. We got our hands full.Kenmore HC Dan Hannon
The Devil Dogs respect the OP passing game enough to hope for rainy weather to play a factor tonight, with Kenmore just fine with playing a ground-and-pound style of football.
We're kind of hoping the rain comes and it slows down their passing attack a little bit, because I think we benefit more. We're more of a ground and pound and I think we're a little more versatile than they are... The biggest reason I don't want to lose, not because of, you know, a Sectional Championship is great, I just don't want the season to end. I've loved every single day from our off season workouts to now, has been so fun, and I don't, I don't want that feeling to end.Kenmore HC Dan Hannon
That 13-0 loss to Kenmore was the turning point of this season for Orchard Park Head Coach Jeffrey Weiss and his staff, who had a Sectional title on their minds since the 2024 season saw them fall short.
We went into the year with high expectations for ourselves. Last year, we were disappointed with the way that things ended. We lost in the section semifinal. Had the ball on like the two or three yard line with three seconds left and an opportunity to tie and didn't get it done. I think going through kind of a loss like that heartbreaking fashion, I think everybody who was coming back was really determined to, you know, make sure that we took that next step.Orchard Park HC Jeffrey Weiss
However, the season began with a couple of setbacks that left the Orchard Park coaching staff scratching their heads.
The first half of the year, in general, things were not going as well as they could have. You know, even in games where we were winning, we weren't playing good football, you know? I mean, we're playing okay football. I think everybody kind of felt that we had a loss to Hamburg, and then the loss to Kenmore was, like, an even bigger one where it was like, hey, you know what? Like, we gotta change some things here. We gotta change our mindset. We gotta change the way that we're approaching things, because what we're doing right now is just not working.Orchard Park HC Jeffrey Weiss
Coach Weiss reevaluated his entire offensive philosophy. He recognized the Quakers’ reliance on their passing attack and adjusted his play calling. Unlike the fall, with a battery of offensive lineman to create space, in flag football, designed run blocking is limited, so coaches are somewhat handcuffed due to the rule book.
We were so pass heavy and didn't really run the ball like at all. I think it just required us to get a little creative and kind of think about how we wanted to approach some things a little bit differently. That, to me, was the hard part is, how do I design a run play without having all the scheme taking care of things out in front of me. We've had to be creative with how we run the ball.Orchard Park HC Jeffrey Weiss
Since that loss to the Devil Dogs, Orchard Park’s defense has allowed a maximum of one score in six of their seven games, including three consecutive shutouts to end the regular season. That development defensively could be a difference maker tonight in the rematch.
The 11-2 Quakers rolled past Hutch Tech and Lancaster in the Class A playoff bracket to punch their ticket to the title game. To Coach Weiss, the depth of Orchard Park’s roster is what separates them from the rest and is a clear reason why they can win the Championship.
We're a really deep team. We've got a lot of people who have really stepped up over the past month or so. They are locked in. They're ecstatic about the opportunity. They are, you know, really buying into everything that we're trying to do. I've got a couple of girls that have been with me since day one of the program four years ago, and I think that it'd be really cool for them to leave with a Sectional Title.Orchard Park HC Jeffrey Weiss
The Class A Sectional Championship between Kenmore and Orchard Park is set for tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Sweet Home High School.
Clarence flag football aims for Sectional 3-peat, Will South seeks revenge for regular season loss
Before the game started, the Friday Night Lights crew knew that when Clarence and Williamsville South met on the flag football field back on May 2nd that it would be a preview of the Class B Sectional Title game. Three and a half weeks later, that premonition came true, with the Red Devils one win away from their third straight Sectional Championship, and the Billies standing in their way.
As back-to-back Sectional Champions, the Clarence Red Devils have rumbled through the 2025 season with an impressive 13-1 record. They picked up right where they left off, shutting out six of their first seven opponents, leading up to that meeting with Will South. Trailing at halftime, the Red Devils found a way to remain unbeaten, at the time, garnering a load of confidence.
That was one of the key points of the season for us. Everything was headed in that direction, in terms of us and [Will] South being in that position. And I think that, you know, it gave the girls a lot of confidence that they knew that they could perform on the big stage in a game that, you know, had first place on the line and had playoff implications on the line. There was a lot riding on, you know, the outcome of that game. It was a good game for us to play, and we knew we were going to be in for a battle. And, you know, we anticipate the same thing will happen [tonight].Clarence HC Mark Layer
Head Coach Mark Layer says that, after successfully rallying to defeat the Billies 25-14, Clarence refused to let their guard down or have any let downs following such a big win.
I've talked to the girls a lot about ‘practice complacency.’ I felt with this team, and I told them that really, I felt that's the only thing that could hurt us if we ever felt that we had it all figured out. I told them after that South game that we were going to come back the next day and have our most competitive practice that we've had all season long, and that's what the girls have done.Clarence HC Mark Layer
The Red Devils are led by four main underclassmen: junior Liv Bell and Breeana Hurley, along with freshmen Ellie LaDelfa and Emma Payne. Coach Layer noted that the practice habits of this core group and the team as a whole is what separates the 2025 Clarence squad from those in years past.
Of all the teams I've coached, this is one of the best practicing teams that I've ever been around. The past is not going to define this year's team. This year's team has to march out its own place for how they'll be remembered.Clarence HC Mark Layer
Just as Clarence isn’t allowing the success of the dynasty built before this year affect their compete level, the Red Devils keep their goals in the short term, not intentionally looking to out-do last year’s team, which fell in the NYS Final Four.
At this point, we have one thing on our mind, and that is to win the game, and if we happen to be successful in that endeavor, then we will move our goal one step forward. But it's not ‘State Championship or bust.’ This is a new team, and they have to define themselves each week on how they play, and that's what they've done this year.Clarence HC Mark Layer
Williamsville South Head Coach Keith Wing recognizes that his team is the underdog in this Championship game, going up against the back-to-back defending champs.
Clarence is a great team. There's no question about it, they've proven that year in and year out, that they're the upper echelon and they're what we strive to be. And so they do a lot of things really well, and so we need to match their excellence and and come out with our best game plan that we can and try to take advantage of all those little, small opportunities during the course of every game, there's dozens of times where there's like, little opportunities here and there to take advantage, take a few extra yards, pull a flag, all those sorts of things and and we got to take advantage of those in order to beat a team like Clarence.Will South HC Keith Wing
The Billies came close in the regular season, leading Clarence at halftime in their lone meeting. However, the Red Devils’ in-game adjustments kept Will South off the scoresheet in the second half, pulling away to defeat the Billies 25-14.
Coach Layer is a brilliant coach. He does things the right way. He's got a great staff, great athletes on his team, and they're going to be, they're going to come in prepared, and we just got to, we got to match them toe to toe.Will South HC Keith Wing
A key player for second-seeded Will South, wherever they line her up on either side of the ball, is senior Paige Szymanski. Not only has the Arkansas Soccer commit racked up 17 touchdowns offensively, Szymanski leads the Billies with 75 flag pulls and 7 interceptions on defense.
She certainly draws a lot of attention, doesn't she? She is a very special, uniquely talented athlete, and I can see why the Arkansas Razorbacks wanted to play soccer there next year. And she does some great things on the field defensively. She's the best defensive player I've ever seen. She's also she's a brilliant student. She has a very high GPA, I think, right around a 95 so she's competitive in her academics as well.Will South HC Keith Wing
Syzmanski, along with fellow seniors Angelina Budelewski and Scarlett Melancon led the Billies in most statistical categories, but a handful of underclassmen deserve a lot of the credit for Will South’s success this season. Quarterback Grace Wagner is just a sophomore, while juniors Tessa Petrie and Millie Schaefer are standouts at wide receiver. While the Sectional stage looms large for some, Coach Wing is confident that the experience in other sports will help those younger players step up under the spotlight.
These are kids who come in with experiences from other sports like we have. A lot of these girls won sectionals on the soccer team two years ago, and a lot of them played basketball, and they went to the state tournament this past year. So they're used to that. And that's, I think that's a nice advantage to have, is that, you know, the moment for a lot of these kids doesn't get too big.Will South HC Keith Wing
The stage is set for the rematch between Clarence and Williamsville South, this time, with the Sectional Championship on the line. The Class B Title game is tonight at Sweet Home High School beginning at 5:00 p.m.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
