As Aysia Jones-Robinson took a knee, time expired and Clarksburg won the second Maryland girls flag football championship, what had been evident all season became etched in stone.
Clarksburg is not just the best flag football team in the state. It is starting a dynasty after winning back-to-back titles.
“This year we really, really wanted it,” coach K.C. Landefeld said. “We worked hard, and I think the smiles on their faces says it all.”
The Ravens launched the sport in Frederick County in 2023, and Montgomery County picked it up at all 25 varsity schools in 2024. Saturday’s matchup, between Clarksburg and Whitman, featured two schools from the county.
Clarksburg’s team last year during the inaugural season was a mixture of newbies from softball and basketball, with a few experienced football players such as Jones-Robinson. The players studied YouTube to learn their positions and spent most of the year just learning how to play. At the championship last year, they were surprised to win.
Not this year. They entered the season with a target on their back as the reigning champions. They wanted to do it again, and to do so they had to take it up a notch. Their plays are more sophisticated, and they run sharper routes and read the defense better.
“It’s absolutely mind-boggling in terms of the level of play,” Landefeld said. “The football IQ is off the charts.”
They didn’t face a tough test all season, going 10-0. Whitman put up a fight in the first half of the championship, holding Clarksburg to seven points as Jones-Robinson threw two interceptions. But the second half was all Clarksburg’s.
Jones-Robinson connected with Destiny Turner for a touchdown to make it 13-0. Then, after a Turner interception, Jones-Robinson ran it in to put the finishing touches on the 19-0 win.
“I didn’t do well, but our defense stepped it up,” Jones-Robinson said. “[Whitman] really played good and shut me down.”
When the game ended, Alex Bauer broke down in tears as the team rushed together to celebrate. Although Clarksburg will return Jones-Robinson and Turner, Bauer, a wide receiver and safety, will graduate.
She fell in love instantly with the sport last year. She never imagined she would play football, let alone winning two championships in the stadium of her beloved Ravens.
“I got to play with my best friends. It’s just been so much fun. I’m going to miss it,” she said. “This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, twice in a lifetime, I guess, since we’ve won twice.”
She knows, as she held back tears talking about it, that her time with the sport might be over so soon after it began. With limited opportunities for girls beyond high school, she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to play again. But her little sister, who has come to all her games, has decided she’s going to be Clarksburg’s next star.
She’s only 10, so she has a few years. By then, the sport will have likely grown even more, and it potentially will be sponsored by the state as early as next year. It is taking off across Maryland — there are 92 schools with varsity teams, with 13 from Howard County committed to joining them in 2026.
It may become an NCAA championship sport in the near future.
Until then, Clarksburg will rely on its current underclassmen to keep its streak going and to continue growing the game they’ve come to love in such a short time.
“We have a lot of talent,” Landefeld said. “We have a lot of kids that worked hard this season that are going to fill roles. You can never replace those seniors because they are a special group of kids.”
Cross country state champions
Earlier this season, Sherwood took the girls and boys titles at the Montgomery County Public Schools Cross Country Championships. On Saturday, on an even bigger stage, they did it again, taking both titles at the 3A state championships.
Sherwood was led by Madeline Quirion, who won the girls individual title in 18:51.07, and twins Dimitrios and Ionannis Rementelas, who placed first and second in the boys race in 16:10.60 and 16:18.60.
In the 4A race, Nya Stoian from Bethesda-Chevy Chase won the individual girls championship in 19:44.02 as BCC took the team title.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.