Girls flag football enters its first season as an IHSA-sponsored sport this fall and the Chicago Public League is helping lead the way. Lane Tech won the city and state titles last season, defeating city runner-up Phillips in the state title game as well. Check out what coaches had to say about their upcoming seasons. If you don’t see your school, reach out to Michael Wojtychiw at mmwojtychiw@cps.edu.
*All coaches were contacted multiple times for this exercise. All responses are displayed below.
School name: Ag.Science
Last year’s record: 9-3
Key Returnees:
Taya Rice
Maddie Jefferson
Miley Melendez
Andrea Ramirez
Key Newcomers:
Melanie Ward
Autumn Robinson
Madison Cruz
Coach’s Season Outlook:
Looking to win City title and compete at a high level in State Playoffs.
School name: Back of the Yards College Prep
Last year’s record: 6-2
Social media handle: Boycp_Flag (Instagram)
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, honors):
Emily Gonzalez – WR/DB, Senior
Melanie Rivera – WR/Safety, Senior, All Conference, All-City, and Chicago Bears All State player 23-24
Kaniya McCollum – WR/DB/RB/Rusher, Senior, All Conference and All-City 23-24
Mya Soriano- Senior – WR/QB/Safety, Senior
Diana Gonzalez – Junior- WR/RB, All Conference and All-City 23-24
Key reserves returning (name, position, year in school):
Diamond Manzo – C/WR/DB, Senior
Anyelina Barreto-Vidal – C/WR/DB, Senior
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Addison Granat – QB, Sophomore
Coach’s season outlook:
We are looking forward to building on our successes from previous seasons. We have a strong group of senior returning are excited to see what they accomplish this season.
School name: Corliss Trojans
Last year’s record: 7-4
Starters returning (name, position, year in school):
Diamond Howard, DB, Senior
Brenda Vences, QB/WR, Senior
Rendan Brown, DB, Senior
Jamiya Mack, WR/DB, Junior
Janaiah Wilkes WR/QB/DB, senior
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Diva Boyd, WR, Freshman
Princess Graves, QB, Freshman
Jakayla Mcknight WR/DB, Sophomore
Estrella Vallas WR, Sophomore
Asia Busch WR/Rusher, Junior
Coach’s season outlook: Corliss is looking forward to building on the success we had last season. As a program our goal is to continue to develop our student-athletes on and off the field by applying the mamba mentality to reach success.
School name: Englewood STEM
Last year’s record: 4-3
Starters returning (name, position, year in school):
Senior Quarterback Anaiya Hill
Senior Center/Wide Receiver Zandrea Brittmon
Sophomore Safety Kimani Vines
Junior Rusher/Running back S’iYalia Taylor
Junior Rusher/Receiver/Running back Duriana Brooks
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Freshman Arianna Thomas
Freshman Heiress Harris
Freshman Treneese Johnson
Coach’s season outlook:
I am looking forward to the ladies understanding what it means to have pure fun and to be seen. Having pure fun is life changing and being seen doing something that brings joy is an unbelievable feeling.
School name: Hubbard
Last year’s record: 0-0
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, stats/honors if available):
Gianna Morales, 12th, WR
Ixel Villasenor, 12th, QB.
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Alondra Molina 11th, WR
Abigail Saucedo 9th, WR/R
Jaslene Avitia 9th, R/QB
Coach’s season outlook: I’m looking forward to an exciting season. The excitement on the players’ faces is everything. I’m also looking forward to a great Winning streak!! Overall I love coaching and this has been a great experience for me!!!
School name: Lane Tech
Last year’s record: 21-1
Social media handle: Instagram: @ltflagfootball
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, stats/honors if available):
Alaina Valmassei, QB, Sr., All-State First Team, All-City, All-Conference
Anida Kreho, WR/CB, Sr., All-City, All-Conference
Maggie Yoest, C, Sr., All-City, All-Conference
Arianna Marin, WR/CB, So.
Florencia Fabian, Rusher, Sr.
Ruby Lim, WR, So., All-State 2nd Team, All-City, All-Conference (out for the 2024 Season with an ACL injury)
Key reserves returning (name, position, year in school, stats if available):
Makayla Brown, WR/MLB, Sr.
Jocelyn Hale, RB, Sr.
Sophie Hong, OLB, Sr.
Ije Agbakwu, WR/OLB, Jr.
Gianna Phillips, WR/CB, Sr. (coming off a season ending injury last year)
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Alexis Frazier, WR/LB, Fr.
Lila Massey, WR/CB, So.
Angel Ativie, Safety, Jr.
Coach’s season outlook:
LTFF is looking to defend our City and State Championships and we have the talent and determination to do so. This year we are beyond excited to have three teams, with a total of 75 athletes which includes 21 seniors.
School name: Lincoln Park
Last year’s record: 2-6
Starters returning (name, position, year in school):
Kyla Chapman, QB/WR, Senior
Shamaya Lumpkins, C/RB, Senior
Payge Turner, R/S, Senior
Delilah Perez, DB, Junior
Olivia Santiago, WR/RB, Junior
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Jaysalie Cortes, WR/RB, Sophomore
Kennedy Trotter, WR/RB, Freshman
Coach’s season outlook: We are definitely building our team back up after a tough season last year. We had a lot of newcomers last year, so with a good number of our team returning for this season, we are hoping for some consistency and dependability from them.
School name: Lindblom
Last year’s record: 5-4
Social media handles: Instagram: @Lindblomflag_ Twitter: @Lindblomflag
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, honors):
Samaria Crowder, QB, sophomore, 2023 All Conference
Milan Malone, WR, senior
Jori Findley, HB, senior
Kaitlyn Gaines, WR, sophomore
Zoe Silas, DB, junior
Taylor Harris, DB, sophomore
Key reserves returning (name, position, year in school):
Jenascia Robinson, DB, junior
Ashyia Scott, DB, senior
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Christina Brown, HB, freshman
Cydnee Johnson, Center, freshman
Coach’s season outlook:
This season is going to be one to look out for! Last year, we had an all new coaching staff, a new JV team, and only a few returning players on varsity. The girls and coaches are a lot more seasoned this year and are excited to improve and build on our foundations. We had a good record in a challenging conference, but with more experience we are looking to improve on that this season.
School name: North-Grand HS
Last year’s record: 5-6
Social media handle: Instagram – northgrandathletics
Starters returning:
Tyajeonna Bell, Sr, WR & RB
Bryanelis Rivera, Jr., QB
Aillany Ortega, Jr., LB
Natalie Carrera, Jr.
Leslie Osorio, Sr, WR
Stacy Robles Velasquez, Sr, Safety
Key Reserves (returning):
Stephanie Rodriguez, Jr, Defense
Key Newcomers:
Ashley Bahena-Bahena, Sr, Linebacker
Heidi Villanueva Guzman, So, Rusher
Tyshawna Johnson, Fr, Defense
Jaslynn Rodriguez, Fr, WR
Mya DeJesus, Fr, WR
Tarriana Walker, Jr, Center
Coach’s season outlook: We have a good mix of returning players and new players that should make us competitive in our conference. Last year, the Lady Eagle-Owls won their first ever playoff game and that has resulted in a hunger to go further especially as this will be the first year flag football is an official IHSA sport.
School Name: Phillips Wildcats
Social Media: Instagram: Wendell Phillips High School
Key Returnees: Cherish Sander, Anijah Robinson, Iycis Hardin
Key Newcomers: zariah Clark, Azariah Coker
Season Outlook: We had a great season, coming up in second place in city and state and expecting a better 3 years. We have the tools, and hopefully, things are going to come together. Excited about this upcoming year
School name: Solorio
Last year’s record: 5-2
Social media handle: Instagram: Soloriogirlsflagfootball
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, stats/honors if available):
Oqiria Butler: (12th) Quarterback – Led team in rushing and throwing TD’s
Damaris Leanos: (12th) Wide Receiver – Led team in TD’s
Anahi Sotelo: (12th) Wide Receiver and Safety – Second on team in TD’s
Sofia Rivera: (12th) Safety – Led team in interceptions
Graciela Mandujano: (11th) Wide Receiver and Running Back – Second on team in rushing TD’s
Key reserves returning (name, position, year in school, stats if available):
Vanessa Romero and Milagros Ruiz: (11th) – Linebackers, most improved players in the team
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school):
Evelyn Diaz Martinez: (12th) Running Back, Wide Receiver and Safety – On pace in being leading rusher in the team this season.
Hillary Nunez: (11th) Linebacker
Melanie Macedo: (11th) Wide Receiver
Coach’s season outlook:
This team is different compared to the teams I have coached in the past. This team is hungry and dedicated and ready to make some noise this year. They have one goal and that is to go far in the City Playoff Tournament. We fell short last year and since then this team has been waiting to go back and fix our mistakes from last year.
School Name: UIC College Prep
Last Year’s Record: New Team 2024/25
Social Media Handle: @benobleUIC – Instagram
Coach’s Season Outlook:
UICCP is a strong community of athletes. We have always taken on the role of trying new things. Our girl population was surveyed last year and expressed interest in Flag Football. We are going to start our first-ever team this year and should have a ton of fun starting this program. We are at 30+ students interested and have had our tryouts. Can’t wait to see you all on the field!
School name: Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Last year’s record: 12-3
Social media handle: X – @wy_flagfball; Instagram – wygflagfootball
Starters returning (name, position, year in school, honors): Soph-Analisa Perez (Corner), Soph-DeTanae Dudley (WR, All-Conference), Jr-Denisse MayHay (RB/WR), Jr-Danielle Lam (WR), Jr-Kennedy Glover (Safety), Jr- Nina Lloyd (Safety/WR, All-Conference), Sr-Abigail Plachta (WR), Sr-Marcella Matallana (WR, All-Conference), Sr- London Higgonbottom (LB)
Key reserves returning (name, position, year in school): Soph- Hayden Petrulis (QB), Jr-Arden Rubenstein (WR), Sr-Simone Dyer (LB)
Key newcomers (name, position, year in school): Soph-Ja’Mya Hamilton (Rusher-Fastest woman @ the Nike 11-on-11 this summer),
Coach’s season outlook: Our goal each season is to do better than the previous one. First season sweet 16, elite 8 last season, this season !
