Marli Smrz admitted that she did not know much about flag football before she played.

Her reason to try it as a freshman at Willowbrook ?

It was a practical one. Like any freshman, Smrz just wanted a way to make new friends.

Smrz ended up helping make Willowbrook a flag football powerhouse in four years.

A year after leading the Warriors to the state quarterfinals, Smrz and Willowbrook took it the next step. The Warriors won a memorable state quarterfinal game in the closing seconds, and went on to take third place in the state with a 22-1 recor d, best in the young program’s history.

Smrz was the catalyst to that success.

Moved from cornerback to quarterback as a sophomore, Smrz never looked back. This season she threw for 3,681 yards and 72 touchdowns, with six touchdown passe

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