Annville-Cleona’s girls football duo sees another gridiron avenue in flag football

Ready, set, hike.

The next varsity high school sport coming to Pennsylvania has already shown up in Lebanon County, and there’s a path for it to grow quickly.

When the focus on girls flag football came to Pennsylvania youth sports in 2022, it became clear there would be several hurdles for the sport to continue growing statewide.

Now, with Pennsylvania set to have new varsity teams competing as soon as the 2025-26 school year, the transition will have its challenges. Slotting a new sport into the mix won’t be easy for any school, but there already are signs of interest at Annville-Cleona.

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Senior Kaeli Pennington and junior Julie Goss have made it their priority to play contact football during the fall, and it’s brought them a unique experience as the only two girls varsity football players in the area.

“There’s an adrenaline rush playing football — It feels like you can get everything out, and it’s just really enjoyable with the team around,” Pennington said. “The coaches have been very helpful — I’ve had a lot of friends that are really supportive, and the teammates have been nothing but supportive.”

“It’s just a really great community of people, and I think (playing football) is a great opportunity in so many ways.”

Annville-Cleona’s Kaeli Pennington (10) and Julie Goss (16) warm up together during halftime of Week 9’s matchup with Schuylkill Valley on Friday, October 18, 2024.

The 2024 campaign saw Pennington and Goss take the field together, and get playing time as the year went on. Each of them said they valued the bonds shared through a season, and that it made the experience of playing a new sport “uplifting.”

“The…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/annville-cleonas-girls-football-duo-090102557.html

Author : Lebanon Daily News

Publish date : 2024-11-21 09:01:00

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