Coach: Tremaine Turner (2nd season)

Career Record: 17-4

Last Playoff: IHSA State fourth place, 2024

Best Playoff: IHSA State fourth place, 2024

2024 Record: 17-4

A year ago, coach Tremaine Turner and the Bradley-Bourbonnais girls flag football team were going over the basics to the game – how to throw the ball, how to pull a flag and the like.

What a difference a year makes.

This fall, the Boilermakers are preparing for the 2025 season as one of the top programs in the state, returning all but one starter on offense and a handful more defensively – while also welcoming new faces who have had success in other sports – after a 17-4 record and fourth-place finish at the inaugural IHSA State Finals in 2024.

Having so much talent back in the fold being pushed by a new wave of players – the Boilers had 60 girls try out this year compared to 48 last year – has created an energetically competitive atmosphere as the Boilers turn the page after a successful summer that included a second-place finish at the Chicago Bears’ Nike 7s competition in July.

“Athletes get better when they compete,” Turner said. “When you have athletes like that on the field, it just makes it easier.”

All-state center Suttyn Hop is the only starter to replace offensively. Sophomore quarterback Elise Munsterman was nearly flawless last fall, going 201 for 279 for 3,388 yards and 38 TDs to just one interception. After doing it on the field, Turner said his sophomore slinger has shown progress as a confident leader as well.

“Elise being our quarterback, we’re seeing her step forward with maturity and also confidence in the pocket. …” Turner said. “ Elise knows where the receivers want the ball, she knows how she wants to run her offense.”

Hop accounted for nearly a third of those yards, but the junior receiving trio of Bristol Schriefer (784 yards), Amber Melchor (727) and Kylie Stanek (700) gives Munsterman plenty of pass-catchers that she’s grown in her rapport with.

Another junior, Nevaeh Brown, showcased her athleticism over the summer as a sprinter at the USATF National Junior Olympics, and will look to increase her production after tallying 1,764 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns a year ago.

Junior cornerback Avery Moutrey, senior safety Evie McIntyre and senior linebacker/safety Audrey Conradi are back to anchor a defense that allowed more than 20 points only four times last season. Nia Lawrence, a Daily Journal All-Area soccer pick last spring, will take her talents to the secondary at the other cornerback spot as perhaps the most notable newcomer to the defense.

While their summer indicates another potential postseason push this fall, Turner and his staff have made it clear to the Boilers that once the regular season kicks off, everyone’s equal again.

“In the beginning, right before we even did anything, we let them know that last year was last year,” Turner said. “They have to write their own story this year.”