As the Phil Simms NJ North/South All-Star Flag Football Game continues to grow and evolve, one thing remains constant, The Observer-area’s representatives continue to shine.
Led by MVP Jaelynn Perez, a Belleville native who attends DePaul Catholic, the North team rolled to a 34-0 victory over the South in the annual game, which was held on Saturday night at TCNJ.
Perez, a running back/defensive back who caught a TD pass and also had an interception, led a strong local contingent, which included Harrison’s Mya De Jesus and North Arlington’s Lyndsay Gilbert.
Perez, who also was a standout soccer player at DePaul after transferring from Belleville after her freshman year, becomes the second Observer-area player to earn MVP honors in three years, joining Harrison’s Rebecca Sardinha who won it in 2024.
“We had two different quarterbacks, so there were two different offenses. I stayed on the defense side, but it was just so cool how a lot of the girls were able to play so many different positions,” said De Jesus, who had a team-high nine flag pulls. “There were some girls that never played certain positions and they still were able to do it. So I thought it was amazing.”
Perez set the tone early for the North when she jumped a route for an interception and returned it 25 yards, deep into South territory.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Perez struck for another monster play, when lining up out of the backfield, she went on a wheel route caught the pass thrown by Hoboken’s Jayla Johnson and, after breaking a tackle, raced to the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown that made it 27-0.
“(What Jaelynn did) was amazing,” De Jesus said. “I played with her before and she’s a phenomenal player, especially being able to do both sides of the ball. She didn’t come to our first ever practice, but she came when we had stayed over and he had put her on offense and then they were like, wait, she could play defense too. So they put her in as a corner and she was able to do well on both sides.”
Perez, who will be playing flag football at Montclair State, ran for 700 yards with eight touchdowns while also catching 28 passes for 255 yards and three TDs. On defense, she recorded 89 tackles with 11 sacks and three interceptions. On the soccer field, she helped lead DePaul to three consecutive NJSIAA North Jersey, Non-Public B championships, scoring 17 goals and six assists. Perez had 13 goals and four assists as a freshman at Belleville before transferring.
De Jesus, who will be playing flag football at Manhattan University, had six interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, to go with 70 tackles on a dominant Harrison defense. She also rushed for 566 yards with five TDs and caught 21 passes for 228 yards and six TDs to help lead the Blue Tide to their second NJIC championship in three seasons. De Jesus was also the leading scorer for a Blue Tide basketball team that qualified for the state tournament for the first time in six years.
For both De Jesus and Perez, it was their second appearance in the North/South Game. This year’s version saw the game expanded to four 15-minute quarters and for the first time ever, the girls got to stay overnight on campus and have multiple practices as a team like their male counterparts.
“This year we got the full experience, staying over and having two practices in one day,” De Jesus said. “It was cool because we were with a bunch of different girls. I met a lot of different people and it’s just cool being around people that are at the same level and want the same things as you.”
Gilbert, a four-sport athlete at North Arlington, had a breakout season for the Vikings. Gilbert ran for 657 yards and seven touchdowns, while also catching 31 passes for 268 yards and a score. A safety on defense, Gilbert intercepted five passes, one for a TD. Gilbert was a starting guard on North Arlington’s division championship girls basketball team, while also being a multi-year starter in soccer and softball.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)