SPRINGFIELD, PA — They looked lost and beaten, against a Conwell-Egan team that perpetually refused to die all season long. Palumbo was 59 yards and 75 seconds away from losing its third attempt in four years at winning the first flag football city championship for a Philadelphia Public School team.
Only no one reminded this version of the Monarchs about history not being on their side. No one told Anyla Byrd, Bea Kaeli, Reece Jackson-Roane, Raniyah Bennett, Tasci Xavier, Anna Bracali, Neveah Austin and Monarchs coach Chris Donnelly that this was how it was supposed to end—staring up at an empty clock with a blank, strained face that said they lost again.
The Monarchs refused to hear those echoes.
Instead, Byrd marched them up the field, and on a dull, grey Wednesday afternoon at Cardinal O’Hara, Byrd found the brightest bouquet on the field, Kaeli’s glaring red hair, flash across the middle of the field, hitting Kaeli in stride for a 19-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left for a dramatic 19-14 victory over Philadelphia Catholic League champion Conwell-Egan.
It marks the first time ever in the brief four-year history of girls’ flag football that a Philadelphia Public League team won the city title.
Palumbo will now play Gwynedd Mercy Academy for the Pennsylvania Flag Football Championship on Monday, May 18, at 5:30 at the Eagles’ Jefferson Health Training Complex.
All Donnelly kept repeating was “first time city champs, first time city champs,” as she gathered her team around for her postgame address.
“This means a lot,” said Donnelly, who lost to Archbishop Wood the first two times, and failed to win the Public League last season in a Pub semifinal loss to Audenreid. “To win this, I can’t say enough about the seniors. For these seniors to be a part of this, it’s extraordinary. We played Conwell-Egan in the preseason and beat them, 13-12. That actually boosted the confidence of our kids. They knew they could do it, because they did it before.”
In the Public League championship, Palumbo was down by 11 points with under five minutes to play and beat Audenreid, 26-24.
“Today it was Bea who kept coming through for us,” Donnelly said.
But not after Bracali took in a 20-yard bomb with 1:15 to play, after the Monarchs were seemingly coming apart after a sack followed by a 10-yard penalty.
From there, Byrd directed the Monarchs the remaining 39 yards on consecutive completions to the speedy Xavier and back-to-back completions to Kaeli for the game-winning score on a crossing pattern.
“I had to rebound, and one thing I always tell myself is charge it to the game,” said Bryd, a junior. “I didn’t want to let my team down. If my teammates sees me down, they get down. I was looking for Bea. Once I see that red hair, I’ll find her. There was no doubt. We wanted to get in those books. I to slow down, breathe, and not panic. Like I said, charge it to the game.
“This puts us in the books.
Kaeli almost didn’t play in the game. She suffered partial tear of ligaments in her left thumb during the Public League championship. There was some question whether she would play in the city championship game.
Kaeli admitted herself she had doubt.
“I had no doubt in my team,” said Kaeli, who is going to Pitt and played for Palumbo’s basketball and soccer teams. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel any pain. I get a lot of teasing about my hair (laughs). I get Ice Spice a lot. I always want the ball. I trust Anyla with everything. This is a first. We’re the first Public League champion to win a city championship.”
Palumbo charged out to a 13-0 lead on Byrd touchdown passes to Reece Jackson-Roane and Kaeli, but Conwell-Egan, as it did all season, mounted a strong response, scoring on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter when Hailey Zarzynski ran one in from two yards out and Sarah Beck hauled in an eight-yard pass from Olivia DellaVecchio, then followed with the extra point from Fran Simeone, putting the Eagles up, 14-13, with 1:56 to play.
That set the stage for the Monarchs’ comeback.
It started well, when Byrd hit Xavier for 17 yards and a first down to the Palumbo 31, but that was followed by a Conwell-Egan sack by Anna Zoryea and a 10-yard Palumbo penalty, pushing the Monarchs back to their 21.
On second-and-19, Byrd unfurled a bomb to Bracali, who got behind the Conwell-Egan defense, and Byrd finished it with three successive completions for the game-winning score.
“These girls have been through a lot,” Donnelly said. “I’m proud of them for they’ve done and how they came back. There was never a doubt they would.”
Scoring Summary
Palumbo 0 7 6 6-19
Conwell-Egan 0 0 0 14-14
2nd Quarter
P – Reece Jackson-Roane 6 pass from Anyla Byrd (Raniyah Bennett pass from Byrd), :14
3rd Quarter
P – Bea Kaeli 5 pass from Byrd (pass failed), 3:20
4th Quarter
CE – Hailey Zarzynski 2 run (Sarah Beck pass from Fran Simeone), 9:20
CE – Beck 8 pass from Olivia DellaVecchio (Beck pass from Simeone), 1:56
P – Kaeli 19 pass from Byrd (pass failed), :19.1
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball [twitter.com].