SMITHSBURG, Md. – The scoreboard clock read :00 at the end of regulation, but the big moment for the Smithsburg flag football team was still in the making.
First, it was Crunch Time for Rileigh Romberger leading to Prime Time for Melyssa Bard before Reagan Furajter finished it at Closing Time.
The trio combined for the two biggest plays of the season, leading Smithsburg to a 14-7 overtime victory over archrival Boonsboro on Wednesday for the Class 2A-1A West I region championship in the first season of MPSSAA-sanctioned flag football.
Overtime rules have each team alternating first-and-goal possessions from the 10-yard line.
The Leopards won the coin toss and took first crack as Romberger, Smithsburg’s quarterback, stayed in the pocket on the first play and checked down to Bard, who slithered into the end zone for a 10-yard score.
Then, after catching the conversion pass, Furajter put an end to the game with an interception on the Warriors’ second play to start the celebration.
“We knew it would be tough. We knew coming in, from even the beginning of the season, that (Boonsboro) would be our biggest opponent,” Furajter said. “Linganore was the only one that really was able to come at us, but Boonsboro was the only other one that could give us a run for our money.
“Tonight, we came in knowing that we were really going to have to fight for it and we definitely did. It definitely shows.”
The Leopards, the region’s top seed, advance to the Class 2A-1A state quarterfinals. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) sanctioned flag football for the first time this season after it previously operated as a club sport.
Smithsburg is seeded third in the quarterfinals and will host Calvert next week. The final eight teams were reseeded by the MPSSAA after the region finals. Middletown, the West II champ, is the eighth seed.
“It’s the first one … the first one in the state,” said Smithsburg coach Charles “Sleepy” Burnett. “It’s good, and the good news is we get to keep going for one more. That’s been my take … just to play one more.
“When you get in the playoffs, it’s win or go home. If you get to play one more, that means your stakes are higher and the rewards are higher. That’s what we want.”
But getting a next game wasn’t easy. Each team scored on their first possession of the game before going scoreless for nearly the final 38 minutes of regulation.
With the ball, the Leopards went to their bread-and-butter play to score quickly.
Romberger executed, using a little improv, to get the score.
“Actually, it’s a play that we throw to normally to Jenna (Todd), where she crosses across the middle,” said Romberger, who threw two touchdowns and intercepted two defensively. “But I saw Melyssa open and the corner and got it. Yeah, it was a quick decision.”
Bard lined up on the far, right side and ran a curl-like route in front of the goal line. She made the grab and ducked under the reach of Boonsboro’s defense for the score.
“I guess they thought it was going to go to Jenna and they left me open because they didn’t think I was capable,” Bard said. “On the play, I go all the way out. Usually, I get the ball sometimes and it just happened.
“It feels great. It was amazing to have this moment – in my last year – with my team. I’m really proud of myself and for my team.”
Burnett never doubted Romberger’s decision, especially since Bard lived up to her nickname.
“They call her Prime … Prime Time Deion Sanders,” Burnett said. “That’s why she wears 21 (the number Sanders wore as a Dallas Cowboy).”
“In overtime, the strategy was get 10 yards. They had been shadowing Jill (Malott) and Jenna all night. But we have a four-headed (receiving) monster. With that short of distance, it spreads them out.”
The encore was Romberger’s conversion pass to Furajter into the teeth of Boonsboro’s defense to notch the extra point and the 14-7 lead.
Boonsboro had the chance to tie the game, putting the ball in the hands of quarterback Mylee Hartman, who led the Warriors to a state final two years ago.
Her first pass was over the middle, but it was batted down by Todd in the end zone.
On the next play, the Warriors sent a swarm of receivers to the left sideline, heading to the front corner of the end zone. A contingent of Leopards defenders followed in coverage.
Hartman fired into the mosh pit of players with Furajter fighting through the pack to grab the game-sealing interception, inside the 1.
Again, the Leopards improvised in the situation.
“The first (play), they went (against) Jenna to Sarah (Mohler),” Furajter said. “I knew she was taller than me and I knew she could catch it over to me. We almost switched, me and Jenna. The sideline was thinking it. I was thinking it, but we just didn’t switch.
“It just happened to come straight to my hands. I just ran to it and it was right there. It just really solidified (the win). I’ve never done something like this before. It feels great.”
The play went against some of the “analytics” for flag football as Smithsburg opted to use their most athletic players in the situation.
“Instead of playing man, which normally a lot of teams play in the red zone, we went zone and we just took away areas,” Burnett said. “Reagan, who’s a soccer player, can read and has good footwork. Rileigh played defense tonight and had two interceptions. We put our athletes in and just rode their backs.”
Considering the way the game started, with each team scoring on its first possession, it became a defensive affair.
Boonsboro got to the Smithsburg 4 in the final minute of the first half but was turned away to preserve the halftime tie.
Each team intercepted a pass at the goal line in the second half to thwart possible scores. Romberger got her first pick at the 1 with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter before Mohler returned the favor, intercepting one at the 1 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Before that, Smithsburg took the game’s opening possession and ran six minutes off the clock before scoring on a 7-yard pass to Macy Orr for a 7-0 lead.
Boonsboro countered with a long drive of its own as Hartman scored on a run with 1:41 remaining in the quarter for the tie that lasted the rest of regulation.
The victory avenged a 22-20 loss the Leopards suffered at Boonsboro on Sept. 23.
“When it comes down to Boonsboro, it’s so competitive and they are so prepared,” Burnett said. “So, you have to match that continuity. You have to use your head and you have to try to gain an advantage. I knew it was going to be close.”
