Longwood's Claire Sclafani earns top honors at third annual National Football Foundation Girls QB Challenge
Longwood QB Claire Sclafani prepares to throw a pass during a passing drill in the Long Island Quarterback Challenge on Saturday. Credit: George A. Faella
Claire Sclafani heard her name, screamed and sprinted straight into the arms of her receiver.
The Longwood rising senior quarterback was named the overall winner at the third annual National Football Foundation Girls QB Challenge on Saturday at Smithtown West.
And she let everyone know just how much it meant.
“The second they said my name, I started screaming,” Sclafani said. “The first person I grabbed was my receiver, Liana Collazo. She’s been with me through everything. All the training, all the early mornings. She came out here with me today and helped me win. I really do owe everything to the people who stood behind me.”
An all-around threat with experience at receiver, quarterback and linebacker, Sclafani was one of the top flag football receivers on Long Island last season with 46 catches for 712 yards and six touchdowns. In her one start under center, she completed 15 of 22 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Now, with All-Long Island quarterback Delaney Israel graduated, Sclafani will take over the position full-time.
“I’ve definitely been preparing every single day, every second I can,” Sclafani said. “A big shout-out to Liana. Seven a.m., training, we’re there with a football, we’re working. I kept being told, ‘Not yet, not yet,’ but I kept going. I really found my passion in this sport.”
Sclafani plays year-round with Flag Elite, the Jets’ official travel flag football team. But her journey started much earlier.
“Backyard football with my dad and brother, that’s how it started,” she said. “In eighth grade, my coach came up to me and said, ‘Hey, we’re putting together a flag football team. Would you like to join?’ Ever since then, I knew this was my place.”
She found her calling at quarterback, where she says the control and challenge of the position sparked something in her.
“Quarterback is the one thing I can control,” she said. “I can control the fate, the pace of the game, where the ball goes, who I’m going to hit. It’s a demanding role, but I wouldn’t want anything else.”
Still, it’s not always easy.
“I actually struggle a lot with confidence,” she added. “I rely on my teammates a lot. That’s why we have such a good connection. We lift each other up.”
The challenge tested 10 of Long Island’s top quarterbacks with a mix of skill-based stations and timed drills emphasizing accuracy, anticipation, movement and decision-making.
Individual winners included Sachem East’s Sofia Larrea (accuracy), Lynbrook’s Aliye Simsek (anticipation), Half Hollow Hills’ Samantha Heyman (IQ) and Valley Stream Central’s Gabriella Rivera (receiver).
Simsek, a Lynbrook senior who threw for 735 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 450 yards and seven touchdowns last season, said the event was as much about camaraderie as competition.
“I was just really excited to meet up with all the QBs,” Simsek said. “Last year, I didn’t really know anyone. But this year was different. We all had each other’s backs, and it made everything less nerve-wracking.”
She started her flag football career at center as a freshman before being moved to quarterback two hours before a game as a sophomore.
“I was scared. I was like, what are you talking about? I’ve never played that before,” Simsek said. “I wasn’t that good at first, but I did a lot of training and here I am now. I got the anticipation award. It shows how far I’ve come.”
As for Sclafani, Saturday’s victory wasn’t just a trophy moment.
“I proved how much dedication I have, how much passion I have,” she said. “I’m excited to keep playing. I want to win the [Long Island championship], get to the state championship. I know we have it in us. We just have to keep working, and I know I will.”
