After going 17-4 and finishing fourth at the inaugural IHSA State Finals for girls flag football a season ago, Bradley-Bourbonnais picked up where they left off to open the 2025 season.

The Boilermakers beat Joliet Central 60-7 at home on Monday night as both programs started off their second season on the gridiron. Bradley-Bourbonnais got five touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Elise Munsterman, four of which came in the first half, and five interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, four of which came from senior Audrey Conradi with the fifth being a 75-yard pick six from junior Avery Moutrey.

Conradi said it felt good to be back out on the field to kick off the new season, and especially to be able to perform well at home.

“Our team is very upbeat, and last year was really upbeat too,” she said. “We have a lot of new people and I think they’re picking it up really well, and we just have really good team chemistry... And it felt good to get interceptions on the home field, for sure.”

After throwing for 38 touchdowns and just one interception last season, Munsterman got off to a hot start Monday by throwing four touchdowns in the first half. She hit Kylie Stanek for three of those touchdowns and Nevaeh Brown for another.

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Flag Football: BBCHS vs. Joliet Central 8/25/25 Bradley-Bourbonnais' Elise Munsterman throws a pass during the Boilermakers' 60-7 victory over Joliet Central in the season opener on Aug. 25, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Sophia Darling, Nia Lawrence and Georgia Kohl each had a rushing touchdown in the second half, with Moutrey’s pick six and another Munsterman touchdown pass, this time to Alayna Sykes, accounting for all of the Boilermakers’ scoring.

“Our offense has really good chemistry,” Munsterman said. “We always just lift each other up... I think we always adjust to the defense very well, which lets us have great plays.”

There have been a few rule changes to IHSA girls flag football ahead of this season, with games now consisting of four 12-minute quarters instead of 20-minute halves. There is still a running clock, but with a few more stoppages.

A key rule change that was a factor Monday is one that now allows defensive players to line up one yard off the ball instead of seven, and they can now rush the quarterback as soon as the ball is snapped.

The Boilermakers put plenty of pressure on Joliet Central quarterback Georgianna Majerus on Monday, forcing plenty of quick throws and scrambles. But Bradley-Bourbonnais head coach Tremaine Turner said the ability of teams to now pressure in this way can create some challenges in avoiding contact.

“Naturally, bodies are going to collide into each other,” he said. “You’ve just got to do your best to not have it up front, just more on the side of the shoulder to protect the girls from head-on collisions. But with one-yard off, you’re not going to have a long time in the pocket for the quarterback. ... It changes the game drastically.”

Despite facing nearly constant pressure, Majerus and the Steelmen started to move the ball a bit more effectively as the game went on. A promising third-quarter drive that featured a couple of big catches from Elliana Fowler ended in Moutrey’s pick six, but Joliet Central mounted another lengthy drive to open the fourth quarter, with Majerus hitting Alexis Pedrosa from four yards out to get the team on the board with about five minutes to play.

The program has grown quite a bit from year one to year two, allowing the Steelmen to field a JV team this season thanks to an increase in players, and head coach Carlotta McLaurin said further growth remains the goal.

“We’ve got a lot of newcomers, and it’s a learning game in the game that you play,” she said. “It’s going to be better for them to understand the game now that they’ve played a game, and now they know what they’ve got to work on and what they’ve got to do to get better.”

Joliet Central will play again Wednesday on the road against Plainfield East at 6 p.m., the same Bradley-Bourbonnais will visit Marist for a 7:30 p.m. game.