At far right, Irvington’s Faith Phillips and Janasia Wilson join their Staten Island Giants club team at the New York Jets practice facility. The team will play in a tournament hosted by the NFL Pro Bowl in January. (Photo Courtesy of John Taylor/Irvington High School athletic director)
(Photo Courtesy of John Taylor/Irvington High School athletic director)
IRVINGTON, NJ — Janasia Wilson and Faith Phillips, both part of this past spring’s Irvington High School girls flag football team, are members of the State Island Giants club team that won the regional girls flag football tournament and will play as part of the NFL Pro Bowl in January. The team will face other qualifying teams from around the country.
Wilson, a rising senior, and Phillips, a recent graduate, were key players for Irvington that won the Super Football Conference–Liberty Division title and finished with a 9-1 overall record after losing to Ridgewood in the SFC championship game. The duo also took part in the first North–South all-state girls flag football game at Kean University on Sunday, June 11. Wilson threw for two scores, including the game-winner, to lead the North All-Stars. The 45th annual Phil Simms North–South High School All-Star Football Game was also held at Kean University on the same day.
Wilson will be a senior. She was tabbed as the North Jersey Player of the Year. This past spring, she passed for 1,432 yards and 24 touchdowns, and ran for 1,010 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively, Wilson had seven interceptions, three returned for touchdowns. She also returned three punts for touchdowns during the year.
IHS, under head coach Kyle Steele, was chosen by Nike and the NFL to play in the Nike Football Kickoff Classic at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., Aug. 24-25. They were one of four teams selected.
Phillips was named the IHS Female Athlete of the Year during the IHS Senior Awards ceremony. She also lettered in basketball and volleyball.
Wilson is also a standout basketball player who has already scored more than 1,000 points in her career. This winter, she will enter the season with 1,243 points.
In 2022, the IHS girls flag football team won the state championship with a victory over Hawthorne in the final at the New York Jets practice facility in Florham Park. They were runner-up in the inaugural state tournament in 2021 after losing to Passaic County Tech in the title game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
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