Wednesday, June 18, 2025
A year after narrowly missing out on the playoffs, the Bellmore/Merrick girls’ flag football team set out to return to the postseason and perhaps make a miraculous run to a Long Island crown like it did four years ago, when the sport was in its infancy.
It was an uneven season — early struggles followed by a late-season surge — as Bellmore/Merrick accomplished the goal of a playoff berth. But their postseason was short-lived, with the squad falling to Valley Stream, 12-6, in a four-overtime thriller last Saturday.
Bellmore/Merrick finished 7-8-1 on the season. They scored seven points or less in all but one of those defeats. In the seven wins, they averaged 33.2 points per game.
Making the playoffs seemed like a long shot after four consecutive defeats in April. Heading into a game at Freeport, the Bellmore/Merrick season was at a crossroads.
"I told the girls if we want a chance to make the playoffs, we’ve got to win five of our next six. And the girls did what they needed to do,” head coach Matt Moody said. “Every game we treated as a playoff game to keep our season alive. The offense continued to get better, and the defense continued to stand up and make big plays when they needed to.”
While the results were inconsistent, what wasn’t was the play of Ava West. The senior rushed for 1,102 yards and 11 touchdowns, while leading the team in flag pulls with 63 to go along with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
And she did all that in just 10 games.
“She is the standard that helped us make the playoffs,” Moody said. "She runs with a very downhill lean. It’s the kind of thing where every coach, especially the football coaches, after a game, will be like, man, nobody runs like her.”
Samantha Sanchioli was another standout, leading the team with 40 receptions for 535 yards and four touchdowns after starting the season at quarterback. The four-year varsity player, who is going to play club flag football at Florida Atlantic University, was third in flag pulls with 48 and led the team with seven sacks.
Hailie Siegler was also a stalwart defensively with a team-high five interceptions to go along with 40 flag pulls, many of which were touchdown-saving. Offensively, the junior had four receiving touchdowns and a pair of rushing scores.
Taylor Halvorsen made great strides this spring after seeing limited time in her first flag football season a year ago. The senior was Bellmore/Merrick’s top cornerback and ended up second on the team with four interceptions.
Meanwhile, freshman Victoria Olson was a revelation as West’s backup at running back, rushing for 399 yards and four touchdowns, while also getting 36 flag pulls and five sacks defensively.
“To know that I've got three more years of what she could turn into once she becomes the featured girl is very nice to see,” Moody said. “She wasn’t even on my radar until she showed up on day one.”
