Young, Perspectives, Kenwood lead impressive CPL weekend at flag football state finals

By Dominic Scianna

In just the second season of girls flag football being sanctioned as a state sport by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), the Chicago Public League had three teams qualify for the coveted crown. Whitney Young Magnet High School, Perspectives Leadership Academy, and Kenwood Academy advanced to the Final Eight in a two-day IHSA state tournament format held the weekend of October 17-18 at Willowbrook High School.

Two of those teams (the Warriors of Perspectives and the Dolphins of Whitney Young) made it to championship Saturday and the Final Four. Ultimately, it would be Maine South (26-3) who would be crowned the state champion.

Whitney Young (22-5) took home a second-place runner-up plaque losing to the Hawks of Maine South in the title game, and Perspectives (20-4) placed fourth, losing to Willowbrook High School in the third-place game. Coach Karen Garland of Kenwood (22-1) led the Broncos to the CPL City Championship and a stellar 22-1 record before falling to Willowbrook by a score of 20-14 on Friday, October 17 in the quarterfinals.

“We are so proud of our girls flag football teams in representing the Chicago Public League at the IHSA state finals,” said Devon Morales, Executive Director of CPS Sports Administration. “Whitney Young, Perspectives, and Kenwood were great representatives of our league, and we salute them and the incredible seasons they all had during this historic girls flag football campaign.”

The Dolphins of Whitney Young were led by senior quarterback Georgia Lang and defensive stalwart junior Ja’Maya Hamilton, who led the tournament in sacks during championship weekend for coach Val Spann. Whitney Young advanced to the championship game with a win over Willowbrook in the semifinals by a score of 12-6 before falling to Maine South 26-6 in the title game.

Perspectives finished the season with a strong showing, led by QB Rayne Lumpkin for head coach Casey Connelly as the Warriors fell to eventual champion Maine South in the semi-finals by a score of 32-6.

Kenwood got a great performance from freshman quarterback Kerry Hopwell, who had both a passing and rushing touchdown in the game against Willowbrook.

Congratulations to the Chicago Public League’s three state finalists for representing CPS and all of our teams to place their names in the history books for an exciting 2025 Girls Flag Football season.

An extensive photo gallery of the IHSA Championship Weekend is highlighted with this recap story on our CPSAthletics.com website.