2026 Shore Sports Insider Girls Flag Football Offensive Player of the Year: Syrah Holmes, Barnegat

It didn’t take long for the word to ripple across the Shore Conference flag football community that Barnegat had an offensive weapon seemingly no opponent could counteract. 

Syrah Holmes had 109 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a win over Central in her first high school game, setting the tone for a season where she became a breakout star. 

“She is unstoppable,” Barnegat head coach Andrew Petruzzi said early in the season. “They can’t cover her one-on-one.” 

The 6-foot-1 sophomore wide receiver formed an electric combination with sophomore quarterback Camila Chamorro that was instrumental in leading the Bengals to a 12-0 season, the South Division title and a Shore Conference Tournament championship in their first year as a program. 

“I believed in us since we first started this whole team,’ Holmes said after the SCT final. “Since the first practice, I knew we could do anything we put our mind to.” 

Holmes is the 2026 Shore Sports Insider Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Shore Conference with 1,031 yards receiving and 20 touchdown catches on 52 receptions during her debut season. She was a crucial part of an offense that averaged a Shore Conference-leading 33.2 points per game and led the Shore with 399 total points. 

Holmes was the queen of the contested catch, using her height and athleticism to come out of a pack of defenders with the ball. She also showed in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game that she has the speed to hurt defenses when she streaked across the field for a 38-yard touchdown catch. 

The sophomore is also an impact player on defense, where she finished with three interceptions, including one in the SCT final, and returned one for a touchdown. 

Holmes is part of a returning core that will make Barnegat the preseason No. 1 team in the Shore in 2027 and an immediate state title contender. Next season marks the first year that there will be state playoffs in flag football after the NJSIAA approved it as an official sport in May. 

Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

Email: scottstump25@gmail.com