Upper St. Clair blanks Moon to win 4th annual girls flag football title
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Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 7:55 PM
Upper St. Clair seniors celebrate with the trophy after beating Moon during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Meredith Huzjak throws to Camryn Friday against Moon during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Moon’s Chloe Bird Sha-lyn Brown runs during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Camryn Friday pulls in a touchdown pass against Moon’s Lillian Snyder during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Meredith Huzjak gets a tackle on Moon’s Madilyn Wilson during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman gets past Moon’s Gianna Reynolds during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Moon’s Lilian Snyder tackles Upper St. Clair’s Ellie Shanholtzer during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair celebrates after beating Moon during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman defends on a pass intended for Moon’s Julianna Corrado during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Anoushka Shamrma beats Moon’s Sydney Ray for a second half touchdown during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman defends on a pass intended for Moon’s Reese Kevlar during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Chile Bird stops Moon’s Madilyn Wilson during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Moon’s Avery Pacheco gets a tackle on Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Moon’s Sha-lyn Brown gets around Upper St. Clair’s Emily Powell during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman gets past Moon’s Sha-lyn Brown during the Western Pennsylvania girls flag football championship game Sunday, May 18, 2025 at Highmark Stadium.
When Upper St. Clair flag football coach Ryan Huzjak got the program started, he was hoping to one day bring a championship to the school.
On Sunday, Huzjak was able to fulfill that goal. The Panthers shut out two-time defending champion Moon, 12-0, in the fourth annual girls High School Flag Football Championship presented by the Steelers at Highmark Stadium.
“It’s really special for us,” Huzjak said. “Coaching my daughters and winning a championship are going to be lifetime memories for me.”
His daughter, senior Meredith Huzjak, helped to open the scoring for the Panthers at the halfway mark of the first half.
She took an end-around handoff from Chloe Bird, slowed up and dropped a pass into the waiting arms of receiver Camryn Friday.
“That’s one of our favorite plays,” Meredith Huzjak said. “We started running it last year, and we all have it memorized. A few times today I threw the ball a little short, so I’m glad that I was able to get it to Camryn and get us on the board.”
The Panthers tacked on another score just over five minutes into the second half.
Bird found Anoushka Sharma for a deep pass down the left sideline. Seeing that the ball was slightly overthrown, Sharma accelerated and got under it just in time in the back of the end zone.
“As soon as I saw the ball in the air and saw it might be out of my reach, I knew I had to go get it,” Sharma said. “I was shocked I caught it but very happy that I did.
“It feels so awesome to win. I never thought that I would be here. Growing up, I loved playing football and doing things like this, and the fact that we brought a championship to the school, I have coach Huzjak to thank for that.”
Upper St. Clair’s defense contained Moon quarterback Sha-lyn Brown whenever she scrambled and left her few options through the air when she dropped back to throw.
“She’s unbelievable and so quick,” Ryan Huzjak said. “We also have great athletes. These kids play a lot of sports — like basketball, soccer and track — and they know how to defend. We knew she was going to be a big challenge for us.”
Moon tried to find ways to get Brown in open space by having other teammates take the snap and hand it to her out of the backfield, but Upper St. Clair was not fooled and never strayed from its game plan.
“That’s a well-coached team. They played it well,” coach Jason Russell said. “If you let Shay cook, she’ll get you. They did a good job of containing her, so great job by them. I have nothing but good things to say about Upper St. Clair.”
Moon played in four straight championship games, winning the past two years, and held a 41-game unbeaten streak coming into the 2025 title game.
All those accomplishments are reasons why Russell won’t dwell long on the loss.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Russell said. “We lost a lot of stars from last year’s team and came into this season not knowing if we would even win the section. To go on a streak like that and for this team to keep up the winning is impressive.”
Moon finished atop the West Division with a 10-0-1 record. It bested No. 3 seed Latrobe, 25-7, in the semifinals.
Upper St. Clair won the South Division with a 10-1 mark and eliminated top seed Shaler, 26-6, in the other semifinal. The Panthers fell in the semifinals last year but were much improved this season.
“We had a lot of new girls come out for the team, and it was the first time they ever played flag football,” Meredith Huzjak said. “We also put in a lot of new plays, and it all just came together to make us a better team. Last year, the playoffs and championship were all on one day, and it was really tiring. Having it on two separate days this year gave us fresh legs.”
Next year, girls flag football will be a fully sanctioned PIAA sport. Ryan Huzjak, a full-time employee with the Steelers, is proud to be a part of the growth of the sport and excited to see where it goes from here.
“It’s great,” he said. “Being a part of the growth of girls flag football is special. For me to get involved at the coaching level and to see how the girls have taken to the sport and how competitive they are, it’s very special for me.”
Added Meredith Huzjak: “It’s so cool. Being a part of starting it at my school was a cool experience. Girls sports sometimes don’t get as much hype, but being able to play football is so awesome. I’ll be graduating, but I’m so excited for the sport to grow.”
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