This year marked the girls flag football team’s first season as an official IHSA sanctioned sport, meaning the team was officially able to compete in conference matches and work toward advancing to the state series. After IHSA had officially approved the sport in the 2024-25 school year and North’s team graduated from its pilot club status, a historic season awaited the athletes.
“First and foremost, these girls are trailblazers. At the end of the day, they’re the first ever to do it, the first to represent their high school in an [IHSA] sanctioned sport,” said Head Coach Mike Taormina. “They’ll forever be in the history books as the first. They got the first win, they got the first to win [a] Conference Championship. They made the playoffs. They’ve had a winning record. So there’s a lot of firsts.”
The North Stars had a successful season, with a 19-3 overall record and a 6-0 in their conference. The team was named DuKane Conference Champions on Oct. 1 after their win against Wheaton Warrenville South, defeating the Tigers with a final score of 50-0. The team went on to compete in playoffs, where they won a 40-0 game against Rosary and then lost to Oswego East with a close final score of 13-14.
The game went to overtime after a tied score of 13-13. The North Stars suffered a close loss after the Wolves won the game with a successful 1-point conversion, putting an end to the team’s 2025 season.
“It was a really hard fought game. It was like a battle all the way up until the end,” said sophomore and varsity player Olivia Taormina. “I feel like it was just more disappointing to us than anything because we knew how special our team was and how deep we could have gone into playoffs.”
Despite the season’s conclusion, the team still celebrates their winning record and conference championship, as well as major highlights for many of the team’s players, most notably those of varsity player Zandria Richardson. Richardson, a junior, currently leads the nation and leads the state of Illinois for touchdowns, with a total of 51 this season. She is also ranked seventh in rushing yards in both the nation and the state, with a total of 2,196 this season. Junior Kaelie Tomalak is also ranked at the national and statewide level, with her 23 interceptions landing her the 11th spot in the nation and first in the state. (Last updated 10/17. Ranks may be subject to change.)
Alongside those successes, players and coaches recognize that this season was a special one because of the team’s positive and encouraging culture.
“We just have so many people coming together,” said Tomalak. “It’s just people that want to work hard and have fun, and I feel like that just brings a great environment and culture to this atmosphere, and that’s what really, really makes it.”
Some of the players went into flag football with the expectation that it would just be their ‘side sport,’ but found their time on the team to be more than they initially thought it would be.
“I kind of went into the season thinking that it was gonna be a little side sport … But then as I was playing, I kind of realized that it just felt so good to be a part of a team,” said sophomore and varsity player Jillian Salter. “It wasn’t even the games that I was looking forward to. It was everything, like the practices, the bus rides, the film, everything. It was just like being with that team and being with that community was just so uplifting.”
Mike Taormina emphasizes that the importance of the flag football program and of the inaugural season’s performance is about more than their record or their statistics. To him, its about building a foundation and growing the team’s passion for the game.
“At the end of the day, it’s more than the wins and losses. It’s about developing these girls in something that’s brand new, and then buying into it, and then falling in love with it,” said Mike Taormina. “They continue to be motivated, and they’re enjoying themselves. From what I understand, we have a bunch of girls that really love the sport.”
