By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
Collingswood’s Kennedy Casel is one of the rare four-sport athletes in South Jersey.
Girls flag football is in pilot mode and will be sanctioned by the NJSIAA in 2026. Until then, players have the freedom to play another sport while playing flag during the spring.
Only a freshman, she decided to play flag football alongside her normal sport of lacrosse this spring. She also plays soccer in the fall and basketball during the winter.
“Honestly, playing both helps me with teamwork,” Casel said. “It helps me stay organized. I put a lot of pressure on myself playing two sports during the same season, and that gives me better skill.”
The Panthers’ lacrosse team took on Highland at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, where Casel scored three goals along with the same number of ground balls. She now has five goals through just three games this season.
“Kennedy has a tremendous work ethic that has, and will continue to raise her game exponentially,” lacrosse coach Erin Waller said.
Simply put, her work ethic rises past performing exceptionally well in only one sport.
In the 6:30 p.m. girls flag football game that followed, the defensive standout tallied three total touchdowns, two of which were interceptions for scores, in the Panthers’ 34-12 victory over Timber Creek. History was made as it was the first victory for the Collingswood girls flag football program.
“Kennedy in class and Kennedy on the field are two different animals,” said Scott Loughlin, Collingswood’s flag football coach. “I remember when I first started here and watching her play basketball, asking coach (Mike) McKeown what grade she was in and hearing, ‘just a freshman,’ I was amazed. Kennedy has something every coach wants: that physical trait where she gives 110 percent no matter what sport it is because she is the ultimate competitor. Kennedy’s future is bright at Collingswood. I can’t wait to watch her compete at the highest level for three more years.”
Casel will have a big decision to make in two short years. She’ll be a junior when flag football will no longer be in pilot mode, which means dual-sport athletes will have to choose between playing flag football or another sport in the spring. For Kennedy, it won’t be easy.
“Choosing between flag football and lacrosse will be a very tough decision,” she said. “Although it is way too early for me to decide, I have always had dreams of playing lacrosse in college.”
Either way, when the time does come, she’ll undoubtedly succeed in whichever she chooses.
