The Penn Athletic Rebels 12U Girls’ Flag Football Team celebrated on the field at United Sports in Downingtown. The players ran up and down the turf, jumping, screaming, hugging teammates, parents, and each other.
After emerging victorious at the Philadelphia Eagles Flag Football regional, they had clinched a spot at the NFL Flag Football Championships in Westfield, Indiana. Though the Rebels had spent a whole winter and spring playing together, it was only now that their season had truly begun.
The victory had been made possible through years of camaraderie, sportsmanship, and chemistry. The nine girls who represent the Rebels have played and grown together for years in and out of school and on and off the pitch.
“They hold each other accountable,” said head coach Erik Pedersen. “They don’t point fingers. It’s kind of a culture. And it really shows the character of the girls.”
PENN Athletic is now regarded as having one of the best flag football squads in the region. For a program just three years old, winning the Eagles’ regional to qualify for the national championships is an unheard-of accomplishment.
Many of the girls had barely heard of flag football just a few years ago, let alone dedicated their lives to being the best at it. But after Pederson took a job as a girls’ flag football coach, he got his daughter Rossi involved. After seeing her fall in love with the game, Rossi’s friends followed suit.
“I love flag football because it’s so fast and you have to think so quick,” she said. “But the best part is my teammates. Playing quarterback means everyone’s counting on you, and when a play we’ve practiced a hundred times works in-game, there’s no better feeling seeing one of my teammates score.”
Like many of the players on the Rebels, Rossi is a student at Holicong Middle School and has been competing with the same group of girls across multiple sports for as long as she’s been an athlete. Seven of the eight girls go to Holicong, while one attends Tohickon Middle School. Their relationships transcend flag football.
“It’s not like there are three people that are friends, two people that are friends,” said safety and wide receiver Jordyn Orchinik. “I feel like everyone has a good bond with each other.”
The level of comfort that the girls have with each other and Erik has with them has carried the squad to new heights.
While driving for the winning score during the regional, the Rebels moved the ball methodically downfield before scoring to tie the game. They had dispatched opponents in all conditions that day at the United Sports complex in Downingtown. They had won indoors and outdoors, under overcast skies, rain, and sunshine, as the football gods sought to test every facet of the Rebels’ ability.
Now, late in afternoon, the final was being played indoors. The crowd had thinned as more and more teams left with their coaches and families after being eliminated. So, needing an extra point to win the game—spotted from the five-yard line in flag football—Erik called his team into the huddle.
“When a girl learns to command an offense or defense, to make split-second decisions
under pressure, to lead teammates through adversity, she’s rehearsing for
every boardroom, classroom, and leadership role she’ll occupy for the rest of her life.”
– Coach Erik Pedersen
He looked around at his squad, trying to find the play or player that could give the team a competitive edge.
“Elora Thomas, number 21, is a high-level track and field athlete, right? She has run nationwide in championships left and right. So you want to talk about a kid who embraces pressure on a regular basis and parents who push her to a high level. She’s a kid without a doubt,” he said of his thought process.
Erik set Thomas as the target receiver and drew up a route. He told his daughter, “You’re going to jam [the ball] in there, and she’s not going to be afraid to get it.”
So when Rossi received the snap, she rolled out as Thomas screamed across the field. The pass was perfect, Thomas made the catch, and the Rebels celebrated on the field.
“That’s the best feeling,” said Orchinik. “When we won that tournament, when we qualified. I just remember celebrating. It was so much fun!”
Orchinik tried out several years ago because her friends were on the team. Now, she and her teammates are off to Indianapolis, where they’ll compete in a tournament against 31 other 12U teams vying for the national championship.
What Erik Pedersen hopes to build through victories like this one isn’t just a competitive team, but a generation of confident women in leadership positions.
“When a girl learns to command an offense or defense, to make split-second decisions under pressure, to lead teammates through adversity, she’s rehearsing for every boardroom, classroom, and leadership role she’ll occupy for the rest of her life,” he said. “Girls who compete grow into women who lead.”
The Eagles have reached out with their support for the Rebels ahead of the Championships. Pedersen and the Rebels have received a signed jersey from Saquon Barkley, footballs from Jalen Hurts, and good-luck videos from Jihaad Campbell, Dallas Goedert, and Barkley. When the Rebels suit up for their matchups at the 3rd Annual NFL Flag Football Championships in Westfield, IN, they’ll be dressed in green and white: authentic Eagles jerseys.
“I’m so excited, like I’m so happy to get the opportunity to go to Indiana and compete against this high-level competition that we’re gonna be able to go against,” she said. –
Following a send-off party for the girls on July 18 at the PENN Athletics Club Clubhouse in Doylestown, the Pedersens and the team will board flights and drive across the country to Indiana.
With the hopes and dreams of their friends, family, and Bucks County on their shoulders, the Rebels strive to make history this summer.
