Junior Ellie Edwards rushed for two touchdowns, senior Abby Mason caught two touchdown passes, and junior Mykenna Rosier had two interceptions to lead the Pioneer Panthers to an unprecedented second straight New York State Class C Flag Football title on June 7.
The final against Section XI's Shoreham-Wading River was 34-6, and the site was Homer High School in Central New York. Homer's field is just a couple miles from the site of the Panthers' first state title in 2025 in Cortland, at which they topped Owego, 12-6, in overtime.
This latest victory was a little less of a nail-biter. After giving up a TD on the Wildcats' opening drive, Pioneer scored 34 unanswered points. One of the tallies was a 20-yard interception for a touchdown by Jayden Leederman.
Leederman played in her final game after four stellar years on both sides of the ball. She is hanging up her spikes alongside fellow Class of 2026 team members Ella Spielvogel, Abby Mason, Cora Hirsch, Morgan Payne, Lilly Kless, and Bailei Hopkins. They and their teammates are 60-3 in the program's four years.
Shoreham-Wading River (on Long Island's north shore) made it to the state finals in just their first season of Flag Football. They qualified after a wild, double-OT win on June 6, over Westlake, 14-8.
Is a Panthers three-peat possible? Despite losing seven players to graduation, Coach Chris Edwards (assisted by Addie Edwards, Lissa Landahl and Pat Souder) has a strong core of underclassmen to take up the reins, led by QB Ellie Edwards, a 2025 state co-player of the year.