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POW7
Throughout the 2026 Illinois high school girls flag football season, the Bears will recognize standout student-athletes through the Player of the Week Award, brought to you by Dunkin'. Each week, one player will be recognized for her outstanding performance on the field as well as her sportsmanship and community involvement off the field.
Evanston Township senior Brielle Rosemond earned Week 7 Player of the Week honors for her contributions on both sides of the ball during her team's postseason run, which included a quarterfinal appearance at the IHSA State Tournament. As a standout receiver and cornerback, Rosemond played a major role in Evanston's regional championship, catching seven passes for 103 yards and a touchdown while also recording an interception.
Rosemond spoke with ChicagoBears.com about her team's experience at the State tournament, how flag football has impacted her life and much more.
What does winning Player of the Week from the Bears mean to you?
It meant a lot. I feel like I worked pretty hard, and it's awesome to see that the things that I do in the offseason and in my own time pay off and be recognized. I also know that I wouldn't be there without my team because everything that I did, I did with them.
When did you start playing flag football?
I started playing my freshman year competitively. We used to have these school leagues in elementary school that I was a part of, but we didn't have them in middle school, so I kind of stopped playing until my freshman year, which was our inaugural season for ETHS.
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girls flag _0004_IMG_3559.JPEG
Who inspired you to play the sport?
I want to shout out my dad because he's been an amazing coach and supported me through my whole flag career. He's a huge reason why I'm a more confident player now, and it's going to be tough not having him as my coach anymore. But he's made a huge impact on me and made me a better player over the years.
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girls flag _0002_IMG_3557.JPEG
How has playing flag impacted your life?
It's helped build my confidence. I feel like I'm a lot more confident in myself when I'm on the field. It's also helped me create bonds and connections with girls throughout the U.S. because I also play for Midwest Boom, so you travel and you play in different places. So, flag has just been instrumental in helping me find peace outside of stressful things.
If you could only play one, would it be offense or defense?
Offense, hands down. I feel like I have a special connection with offense. That's where I started out. I didn't play any defense when I started. I just was a wide receiver, and I really only got into defense when some of my teammates got injured and I had to play corner. And then I started working at that too, but offense comes a little easier to me in my brain. And then it also helps with defense because when you're on the defensive side, you can read offenses better because you know what an offense looks like.
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girls flag _0000_IMG_3555.JPEG
What was your favorite moment from senior season?
I think it would be our sectional championship game. Maine South has always been great competition for us, and their team is awesome. But it really sucked when they beat us last year and it sucked when they beat us in the regular season. So in the playoffs, there was just extra fire to try and beat Maine South because their team's great. But it was also a fun game just because we got our rusher back, Camille. She's awesome and she's an instrumental part of our team. That was her first game back and we had missed her all season, so it was great to play with her again. She's one of my longest friends. So it was great to see her on the field.
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girls flag _0001_IMG_3556.JPEG
How would you describe your experience at State?
My team, we're a pretty goofy team. We always have high energy and love for each other. So at State, it was just kind of like we were all checking on each other, making sure everybody's nerves were good and still being goofy, cracking jokes. That's kind of the culture we've built on our team. When we play with that culture and play more relaxed and are happy to be playing with each other, I think that's when we're at our best because we're not worried about the other team. We're just worried about playing our game and doing what we know how to do best.
What's your ideal future in flag football?
I want to play in college. That's my trajectory right now. I think that if college presents opportunities for me to go further, like playing on the USA team or at the Olympics, being able to do that would be awesome. But at the moment, I'm just focused on making sure that I can play through college healthy and keep playing at a higher level.
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girls flag _0003_IMG_3558.JPEG