The footballs and flags have been put away for some time now, but it’s not too late to take a look back at one of the West Hills’ success stories in the fledgling sport of girls high school flag football.
When Sto-Rox flag football coach Lauren Ferragonio started the girls flag football team at Sto-Rox High School, she had aspirations of simply creating something fun for the girls to do. Ferragonio, a former indoor football player with the Pittsburgh Passion, got connected with the Pittsburgh Steelers through former teammate and at the time Woodland Hills coach Sharon Vasquez.
From there, Ferragonio found out that flag football was soon to become a state-sanctioned sport and began to take her role more seriously.
This season, Sto-Rox impressed with a 9-3-1 record, after back-to-back five-win seasons in its first two years.
One of the biggest reasons for the Vikings’ success this season was the play of quarterback Rae Johnston.
Johnston, a senior, originally started playing at her local Boys & Girls club in elementary school. She then picked it back up when the Sto-Rox team started in her 10th grade season.
Talking about her experience with Sto-Rox, she gave thanks to her coaches in both flag football and basketball (Jeff Stuart), saying that at first it was a struggle to balance her emotions and personalities in the sports, but that she “figured it out.” She also touched on learning the importance of sportsmanship over the years as well.
Johnston is heading to Point Park University to play on Pioneers’ inaugural flag football team in the spring of 2027, while majoring in criminal justice. When asked about it, Johnston said that she was “pretty excited” for the opportunity with the Pioneers.
Another big leader on the Vikings this season was Kamiyah Thompson. Thompson, also a senior, is a multisport athlete who got her start in flag football during her freshman year.
Thompson, who is heading to Defiance College in Ohio, was very thankful for her coaches in all her different sports, and the different things she learned while playing sports for Sto-Rox. She especially thanked Ferragonio for helping her with her accountability and team bonding skills throughout the years.
Ferragonio spoke highly of both players. When asked about the impact of both players, she said that “both are incredibly talented athletes at offense and defense, and both can play wherever and make an impact.” She continued, praising their leadership abilities, sharing that they have “influenced our younger players to put in the extra work to get better.”
Next season, Sto-Rox will look to continue the momentum that the team built this year. One of the leaders for the team next season figures to be Viyhshaela Macon. Macon, who will be a senior in the fall, was the recipient of the Jerome Bettis Leadership award.
The award honors high school football and girls flag football student-athletes in the greater Pittsburgh area who go above and beyond to provide mentor-like support to their teammates and positively impact their communities. Only seven players from the entire WPIAL/city league are awarded this honor each season.
Ferragonio described Macon by saying she is “the definition of what it means to be a leader. Kind, inclusive, supportive and always putting others before herself, she leads by example every single day.
“Whether it’s lifting up a teammate, encouraging someone who’s struggling or bringing positive energy no matter the situation, she makes everyone around her better,” Ferragonio added.
Macon and her teammates will look to come back stronger next year, but they’ll have a lot to live up to. This year’s Vikings team finished just a half-game out of the WPIAL playoffs and lost only to Seton LaSalle (43-0), Montour (18-12) and Moon (32-20). All three of those teams competed in the inaugural WPIAL tournament and Moon wound up reaching the semifinals before falling.
Be First to Comment