Section V flag football’s Super Saturday lineup of championship games includes six teams which also are found in the state rankings.
Penfield and Hilton, which meet in the Section V Class A tournament final 10 a.m., May 23 at Gates Chili, are in the top 15 on the list of 25 teams put together by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
The NYSSWA has Webster Schroeder and Webster Thomas in the top 10 of the Class B state rankings. Both teams are among the best in Section V, regardless of classification or size of school enrollment, and meet in the Section V Class B title game noon, May 23 at Gates Chili.
Six Section V teams appear in the Class C state rankings. Aquinas and Hornell play for the Section V Class C1 championship, 2 p.m., May 23 at Gates Chili.
Bishop Kearney and Finney are outside of the latest state rankings, the sixth edition this season. But it is the Kearney Kings and Finney Falcons in the Section V Class C2 championship game, 4 p.m., May 23.
State-ranked Section V flag football teams
Class A
No. 13 Hilton Cadets: 10-2-1 season record, five-game winning streak, including 25-6 victory over Fairport in tournament semifinals, the first victory that deep in a sectional tournament in team history. Won 20-14 at Penfield on April 14.
Players to watch: No. 11 Paige Dean, senior, quarterback/linebacker threw two touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown, also 18 carries for 70 yards in the semifinals. 2025 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Flag Football Second Team. No. 23 Amiyah Miles, sophomore, running back/receiver/pass rusher caught a pass for a touchdown, another for a one-point conversion, five receptions total for 47 yards in victory over Penfield.
No. 14 Penfield Patriots: 11-2, winners of six in a row, the last, 61-6 over Edison/World of Inquiry/School of the Arts during the sectional semifinals. Section V Class A champions at the end of all three seasons: 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Players to watch: No. 1 Sophia Puccia, senior, quarterback completed 10 of 12 pass attempts, three for touchdowns, for 135 passing yards and ran for two touchdowns in team’s semifinal. 2025 AGR Team member. No. 14 Macy McFarland, senior, receiver/defensive back caught two passes for touchdowns, six total for 64 yards last game.
Class B
No. 4 Webster Schroeder Warriors: 13-1, winners of nine consecutive games. Reigning state and Section V champions rolled to 38-13 win over Greece Arcadia in semifinals. Defeated Webster Thomas, 20-0, May 5 at Schroeder.
Players to watch: No. 13 Emma Rascoe, senior, quarterback/pass rusher was a candidate for 2025 AGR Player of the Year. Five touchdown passes, among 34 of 42 completions for 383 yards against Arcadia. No. 20 Jillian Pagano, junior, receiver/linebacker, usually is among the Warriors receivers who reach the end zone. Not so, during the win over Webster Thomas.
No. 7 Webster Thomas Titans: 15-1, winners of four games in a row. Turned back No. 4 seed Churchville-Chili (11-3) during semifinal round. State-ranked No. 10 on April 12, No. 8 (April 19), No. 4 (April 26), No. 4 (May 3) and No. 7 (May 10). Defeated Penfield, one of the finalists in Class A, 22-0 at Thomas, April 23.
Players to watch: No. 6 Olivia Smith, senior, running back/defensive back finished with three catches for touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and on defense, a pass interception against Churchville-Chili. No. 1 Jazzy Ealey, senior, pass rusher five flag pulls behind the line of scrimmage during the semifinals, nine total. 2025 AGR Team member.
Class C
No. 2 Hornell Red Raiders: 13-0, the last undefeated team in Section V. No. 1 seed faces No. 2 Aquinas in Section V Class C1 Final. The championship game is the first meeting of the season for the two sectional finalists. Red Raiders pulled away to 27-6 win over state-ranked Wayne in semifinals.
Player to watch: No. 14 Bryanna Wilkinson, eighth-grader caught two passes for touchdowns from different quarterbacks in the semifinals.
No. 11 Aquinas: 14-1, on a four-game roll of wins going into Section V Class C1 Tournament Final. Defeated Mercy for the second time this season during the semifinals, 21-14. Also has two wins over Finney and Bishop Kearney, the Class C2 sectional finalists. Pioneer, a strong team in Section VI or Buffalo region is the team that defeated Aquinas.
Players to watch: No. 12 Ajay “AJ” Orr, senior quarterback/receiver/defensive back was 16 of 23 passing for 173 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions thrown, a 2-point conversion and 17 carries, 93 rushing yards during the second win over Mercy. No. 14 Bles’ng Muhammad, senior, receiver/linebacker is a very speedy player. Muhammad also is a member of the Aquinas outdoor track and field team this spring. Scored touchdowns at the end of punt and interception returns in the team’s quarterfinal win over Batavia.
No. 13 Mercy Monarchs: 12-3, after season-ending loss to Aquinas in Section V Class C1 semifinals. That was the end of a six-game winning streak.
No. 19 Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers: 9-4, fell to Finney, 6-0, in the Section V Class C2 semifinals. The Chargers had a four-game winning streak before they were stopped during the tournament.
Bishop Kearney Kings: 9-5 heading into Section V Class C2 Tournament Final against Finney. Kings lost their final regular season game, 13-0 at Finney, after winning three games in a row. Kearney was a big winner on homefield against Finney, 31-13 April 24.
Finney Falcons: 13-5 after the Falcons defeated state-ranked Canisteo-Greenwood 6-0 in the semifinals. The Falcons are on a four-game winning streak before their sectional championship game against Bishop Kearney. Finney seeks its second win against the Kings this spring, including a 13-0 win May 11 on homefield.
Players to watch: No. 2 Lainey Vargas, eighth-grader scored the only touchdown in Finney’s 6-0 win over Canisteo-Greenwood in the semifinal round. No. 3 Ny’Asia Timmons, senior pulled her 100th flag as a varsity player this season. Made five stops, one behind the line of scrimmage in playoff win over Canisteo-Greenwood.
James Johnson, who grew up in the city of Rochester, has worked as a full-time journalist covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle since 1996. His career began as an intern during the summer of 1990, before the start of his senior year at Edison in the Rochester City School District. He has become a two-time winner of the Rochester Press-Radio Club’s Sports Media Excellence Award. Follow him @jjDandC on X (Twitter). Please contact him at JAMESJ@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Six state-ranked teams headline Section V flag football finals
Reporting by James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
