By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
PHILADELPHIA — Arianna Clark says she doesn’t normally enjoy the spotlight.
However, the Mastery Camden junior understandably didn’t mind shining under it on Sunday.
The star wide receiver/defensive back hybrid proved why she’s considered by many to be one of the best girls flag football players in South Jersey, as she recorded two interceptions to help Mastery beat Kingsway Regional, 12-6, in overtime in the West Jersey Football League championship at the Philadelphia Eagles’ NovaCare Complex. Mastery Camden lost to Kingsway in last year’s WJFL semifinals.
“It was a close game, but we pulled it out and we won,” she said. “All that was going through my head was ‘I can’t lose this.’ We went through so much, we went undefeated. I couldn’t let us lose again. We played as a team and went through and did all that we needed to do.”
Tied at 6 with less than a minute left in regulation, Clark recorded a pivotal game-saving interception as Kingsway’s offense was marching down the field. That big play helped send the game to overtime.
Similar to college football, teams start at their opponent’s 25-yard line in the overtime period, and each gets one possession. If the first team scores and the second team does not, then the first team wins the game (or vise versa).
Kingsway failed to convert its first attempt to reach the end zone, and Mastery Camden quarterback Brasaiyah Stern aired the ball out to a wide-open Journee Davis for the game-winning score.
“We knew they were just following Arianna all over the place,” said Mastery coach Aaron Clark, Arianna’s father. “We lined up Journee and took her one-on-one with the corner route and they just left her wide open. Brasaiyah made a great pass, and we won the game.
“Sometimes we use (Arianna) as a decoy for that reason. The other girls, when their number is called, they show up and they’re ready to go.”
Mastery Camden (15-0) came into the game as the No. 2 team in the state, while Kingsway (14-1) was ranked No. 3 by nj.com.
Clark, the reigning Touchdown Club of Southern New Jersey Most Valuable Player and front-runner to earn the award again this season, has 33 receiving touchdowns this campaign, 13 more than she had in 2024. Kingsway made it a point to double-cover her, but that strategy left Davis wide open.
“That (extra coverage on Arianna) took the focus off of me, so they didn’t know it was coming,” Davis said. “I had to catch it, or go home and cry. It’s my senior year. I had to go big or go home. I wanted to win something this year and I really, really love flag.”
Said Clark, “I was pretty much covered on offense. They watch film, they shut me down, I’ll let them have that. They were shutting me down, they were double teaming me. But I had to do what I had to do on defense to get it back.”
It was Mastery’s second WJFL title in three years of the sport’s existence at the high school level in South Jersey, but this one was extra special with the victory coming against Kingsway — Mastery’s playoff nemesis from a year ago.
“We had a little thing going on. Kingsway took our bite last year, so let’s go get our bite back this year,” coach Clark said. “That was our running joke all week. So we got our bite back, pretty much. They were extra motivated and ready to go. The feeling is all strong. For the family, for the girls, it feels good.”
Said Arianna Clark, “I don’t what happened last year. I guess we had some type of revenge and we had to beat them.”
For Arianna, the spotlight was well deserved for her performance on Sunday. During the last two seasons, she has 112 receptions for 1,898 yards and 53 touchdowns.
“I don’t really like being in a spotlight, but being like this, getting awards and winning championships, it’s a really good feeling,” she said.
Although the sport has only been played for a couple of years, she’s the undisputed top player in South Jersey history. And that’s not an overstatement.
No. 13 can do it all.
Besides finishing her high school career on a high note, with one season left next year, Clark named another important goal: “I hope to make it to the Olympics in 2028,” she confidently said.
