The streak is out there, and it’s not something the players on the Plainview-Old Bethpage girls flag football team talk about regularly.
They know they’ve won 50 games in a row heading into the Nassau County flag playoffs, and are coming off two straight undefeated seasons.
The Hawks haven’t lost a game since 2022, and while head coach Alec Abramowitz is superstitious (“I don’t talk about it, I don’t mention it, I don’t want anyone talking about it in front of me,” he said with a chuckle), the players seem to take it in stride.
“We don’t remember what it feels like to lose, and that’s a good thing,” said senior wide receiver/defensive back Rachel Ganz. “But this year has been the toughest yet, because every other school is getting better at the sport.”
The 2025 season being the toughest is a relative thing, but it’s true, P-OB has had to work a bit harder at times to go 12-0.
It only defeated Syosset 13-0 and Plainedge by only a touchdown, 15-7.
Massapequa may have been the toughest challenge; the Hawks were trailing in that one before roaring back for a 26-13 win.
“We’ve had to work harder in practice and in the games, which is great because it pushes us,” said senior receiver Emma Heaney, a 6-foot tall skyscraper. “We know everyone wants to beat us.”
Why has Plainview-Old Bethpage become the first dominant program in Long Island’s short flag football history? Abramowitz and the players point to a few things: Several years ago, when most of the team’s seniors were in middle school, some parents started an unofficial flag football league for the girls in Nassau County, and having some playing experience once they got to high school was vital.
“We had such great parental support here in Plainview from the parents, and teaching the girls a lot of the basics of the game before they got here to high school,” Abramowitz said.
Another factor in the success is how many of the Hawks’ players compete together all year round on the soccer and basketball teams.
“We spend so much time together, all of our time together, all year round, so we get to know each other athletically and what each person is capable of,” Heaney said. “We know each other back to front.”
This season’s team is dominated by seniors like Heaney and Ganz (“she’s just a beast, and does whatever has to be done to win,” Heaney said of Ganz), along with fellow returning starters Julia Kesselman, Emily Brake and Lara Glasser.
Plainview-Old Bethpage has two new quarterbacks this year who have shared the job, with freshman Jadyn Barnhill and junior Schyler Sacks both excelling.
And on defense, the Hawks have only allowed 27 points.
Now comes the playoffs and a possible run to another state title. On May 21, the Hawks will face either Massapequa or Port Washington.
“We have two banners hanging in the gym, and we won’t be satisfied until we have one more up there,” Ganz said. “Nobody wants to go out without getting that one.”
