MECHANICSBURG, PA — It was not the kind of start Samiah Knight envisioned to her Memorial Day weekend. The Penn Wood senior did not play any varsity sports in high school. This was a big step for her athletically, on such a large stage—the Big 33 All-Star Flag Football tournament between top all-star teams from Philadelphia (Eagles), Washington, D.C. (Commanders), Baltimore (Ravens) and Pittsburgh (Steelers).
The first pass thrown her way in the tournament was a dropped deflection that was returned for a pick-six. The last pass she caught was a diving catch in the corner of the end zone that resulted in the game-winning score in Philadelphia’s 12-7 championship victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.
If there was an MVP, it had to be the Eagles’ Maya Johnson, from Abington, who threw both TD passes for the Philadelphia-area team, the first to Caitlyn Peace (Pennridge), and the game-winner to Knight.
Johnson, a star guard for the Abington basketball team headed to Division II University of the District of Columbia, was like a pint-sized Kyler Murray, squirting through the Pittsburgh defense, making large gains by squeezing by Steeler defenders. She ran the game like a true point guard would—seeing open receivers, picking her spots to run, and always having her eyes down field.
Johnson’s first love was basketball growing up. She began playing flag football a few years ago as a sophomore, and the love of her life—basketball—is now being challenged.
“I did grow up playing basketball, but I grew up in an Eagles’ household, and you know how that goes,” Johnson said. “But I grew up playing football. My first love was basketball, but flag football is challenging that. I love it. I played (football) in recess all the time in grade school. I’m going to University of the District of Columbia for basketball, but I plan on playing flag in college, and if they don’t have a team, I’m thinking of starting one myself.
“I get to go out as a winner. I love playing the open competition. You don’t what to expect, and these teams don’t know what to expect from you.”
At least Johnson had that during her high school career, Knight did not play at varsity sport. Girls flag football will not be a PIAA-affiliated varsity sport until the 2026-27 school year, played in the spring of 2027.
But Knight will be going from not playing a varsity sport in high school to playing a sport in college, when she plays for Neumann University’s women’s flag football team in the Atlantic East Conference next spring.
“I grew up playing all types of sports, and grew up playing street football,” Knight said. “A lot of girls, in the beginning, did not play flag football, maybe because they thought it was too masculine, or too aggressive. I did play for the Penn Wood flag football team the last two years. I’m going to play at Neumann in college, and I’m really excited about that.
“I’m happy I didn’t drop the ball on the (TD) catch. I was scared I was going to drop the ball. This is something I love. Everything in this is like a second nature to me. As good as our track team is, I could not see myself falling in love with track. I fell in love with this. I can’t wait to go on and play in college.”
Knight got the chance to erase the mistake she made on the very first pass that was directed to her.
“This weekend shows Sam’s resilience,” Philadelphia coach Tim Quinn said. “Sam came out this weekend to make that game-winning touchdown. We looked at her in the first game, and the first pass thrown to her she dropped, which was turned into pick-six. It was first-catch experience, and a last-catch experience, and that speaks to the resilience of Sam. She fought through the weekend and wound up making the game-winning play.”
Knight goes away with a gold medal—and a lot of memories.
“Being honest, from the moment I dropped that (first) pass, I was devastated, and that mistake was constantly in my head,” Knight said. “It plagued me. If it was a regular-season game, I would have had time to make for it. This was a tournament. I can go home with a smile on my face and a gold medal around my neck.”
Next Saturday, May 31, the Eagles will be hosting Eagles Girls Flag Football League Championships at the NovaCare Complex. The first game will be for the District 12 championship between Lansdale Catholic against Audenried Charter, and their star basketball player, quarterback Shayla Smith, Philadelphia’s all-time leading scorer bound to Penn State for basketball. The second game will be between Abington and Gwynedd Mercy for the District 1 championship. The winners will meet the same day for the Eagles Girls Flag Football League Championship.
Scoring Summary
Steelers 0 7 – 7
Eagles 6 6 – 12
1st Half
Eagles – Caitlyn Peace (Pennridge) 6 pass from Maya Johnson (Abington) (pass failed)
2nd Half
Steelers –Shay Brown (Moon) 1 run (Brown run)
Eagles – Samiah Knight (Penn Wood) 8 pass from Johnson (pass failed)
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
