Flag football has found its first hero in Maryland: Aysia Jones-Robinson.
After the dust settled in the inaugural girl’s flag football state tournament, the lights of M&T Bank Stadium shone brightly on Aysia Jones-Robinson and her Clarksburg High School Coyotes after their 21-12 win over Boonesboro High School.
With the clock ticking under four minutes and her team up by just two in Friday night’s state championship game, Jones-Robinson shut the door. She intercepted a Boonesboro pass, returned it into the red zone, and threw a touchdown to put the game away.
Given the stakes of the moment, this performance alone may have done enough to earn her the honor of player of the week. However, this was just the cherry on top of a wild night. The sophomore played both sides of the ball in all three games on Championship Friday, just four days after playing both ways in two playoff games to get them there. Jones-Robinson was at least somewhat involved in 61 of Clarksburg’s 67 points in Friday’s single elimination rounds, including all 21 in the championship with two touchdowns through the air and one more on the ground.
This is the second season that girls flag football is a recognized sport in the state. However, last season’s tournament only featured ten teams, all of whom were from Frederick County. This season, 53 schools entered the playoffs from four counties: Baltimore, Montgomery, Frederick, and Washington. The championship game was also moved from Under Armour’s Baltimore Complex, to the home of the Ravens, who were an integral part of the development of the sport in the state.
Thanks to inspiring performances by players like Jones-Robinson, the future of the sport is bright in Maryland. You can watch the full broadcast of Friday night’s games here.
Photo Courtesy of Phil Fabrizio.
