By Gianna Aguglia

Isabella Iaquinta scores a touchdown against USC in a Steelers preseason halftime game.

Joe Lofton and his team promoted High School Girls’ Flag Football in Western Pennsylvania for the Spring of 2022. 

Their initial goal was to provide opportunities for girls to play. “I know a ton of girls who have grown up in football homes, and some girls have grown up playing backyard football with their brothers,” Lofton said. 

Over the last few years, the league has grown immensely. The 6 teams that competed locally in 2022 grew to 19 schools and 21 teams in 2023. In 2024, the rapid trajectory increased to 36 schools and 38 teams. 

Lofton currently projects to have 50 teams play this year. “It is giving me grey hair, but it is a good problem to have,” he jokingly said. 

Learning that Girls’ Flag Football would become a sanctioned high school sport in Spring 2026, Joe Lofton and his team were ecstatic. “Oh man, it was awesome. It is a huge accomplishment. To be able to introduce a brand-new sport and then provide the opportunity to play it and support it, you know it is very rewarding. Our work is still not done here but we have taken some long strides to make this thing come to fruition,” he said.

The Steelers will continue to provide guidance and resources for Girls’ Flag Football after the WPIAL and PIAA take over. Lofton said that they aren’t going anywhere. “We care about girls’ flag, and we want to continue to see it do better.”

This season, Lofton said that returning players and teams are going to see a lot of growth. There will be a lot of new teams. Lofton and his team have been encouraging schools to host games so that there will be more venues. “We want to continue to increase that experience, we want girls to have fun but also have fun playing some flag football.”

Lofton said that the goal has always been the same, and that is to provide the opportunity to play flag. “I think when other schools see other girls playing and having fun and playing on Sundays and having championship games, they are like how can I be a part of this?” he said. 

Budgets within high school athletic departments can vary across districts. Lofton said that the Steelers have helped to support schools that may need financial assistance to start a team. “The organization provides the flag football equipment, footballs, and flag belts,” he said.

Lofton explained that they provide stipends to help, and it is up to the school district however they would like to utilize those funds. “That can help pay for a flag coach, that can help pay for transportation for buses to a game, that can pay for your uniforms or if you want a home and an away set of uniforms, so that stipend really goes a long way because not everyone has that financial assistance to get started,” he said.

Over the past few years, Lofton’s team has partnered with the Pittsburgh Flag Football League. “Chris Curd, he helps us provide visuals and site managers so when North Catholic arrives for their game at let’s just say North Allegheny for example, the fields are set, you show up, you warm up, and you play,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges the league has faced is access to fields and finding officials or coaches. Lofton explained that despite these challenges, they have support of their ownership from the top down. “We’ll do things like put job descriptions out on Teamwork Online where people can apply for flag positions or even apply for an opportunity to be an official.”

Lofton said the Steelers organization has a department dedicated to youth and high school football growth called Football Development. Joe Lofton, Mike Marchinsky, and Kevin Ackerman strictly dedicate themselves to growing football and providing opportunities.

Lofton explained that they have the support of their marketing and campaign teams as-well. 

Outside of gameplay, Lofton said that players have plenty of opportunities to connect with the Steelers organization. “Particularly in August, which is play football month, Girls’ Flag Football teams compete in a Steelers pregame or halftime show,” he said.