Few players offered the visual representation of heart the way Reagan Harter did at Jeffco Field.

As her Titans teammates continued to celebrate Wednesday in Lakewood after their 27-24 victory over Green Mountain in the 4A flag football semifinals, Harter fiddled with a bag of ice. 

Harter, already sporting a pink wrap around her right hand to aid a jammed thumb, had a black and blue bruise above her left eyebrow after the victory. 

“I was rushing the quarterback and she threw the ball and her elbow came down on my head,” Harter said.

No worries, Harter intends to complete the final page of the top-seeded The Classical Academy’s story in their championship rematch at 4 p.m. Saturday at Trailblazer Stadium with No. 2 Mountain View. 

The four-sport athlete has been fierce all year and has 85 receptions for 1,338 yards and 26 touchdowns. Against Green Mountain on Wednesday, Harter finished with nine catches for 83 yards and a pair of scores. She hopes it will translate to Saturday against Mountain View. 

Although these same Mountain Lions handed the Titans a 26-0 loss Nov. 2, 2024, TCA’s confidence never wavered. The Titans are 15-3 ahead of the title game and beat the defending champs 39-32 in triple overtime in the second game of this year.

“I think for all of us, this season was forgetting about last year and starting anew,” TCA wideout Brooklyn Blair said. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t focus on the past so we could get here again.” 

Well, not everyone shares those feelings. Kelsey Peterson said last year was a tough loss that “I think about every day.” 

Peterson used that agony as motivation this season to the tune of 396-of-695 passing for 3,923 yards, 68 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. Compare that to last year when the junior quarterback finished 325-551 passing for 3,654 yards, 53 touchdowns and 33 interceptions in 19 games. 

The paradigm shift from “building an airplane in the air,” – the way the Titans describe the learning process in their inaugural year – to swift adaptation to game situations paved the way for Peterson and the Titans this season as they illustrated in the semifinals.  

Peterson threw back-to-back interceptions in the third quarter against Green Mountain. With the assistance of her teammates, Peterson recovered to throw the go-ahead touchdown to Ryann Ferguson, who the Titans QB called her “hype man,” to lead TCA to victory. 

“I like the pressure of it,” Peterson said. “I’m looking forward to getting back on that field for the championship game. We’re going to have to fight hard for it. (Mountain View) wants it just as bad as us. We have to go out there with applied confidence and knowing we can’t be overconfident and have to play our game.” 

The Classical Academy coach Dale Meyerrose said the team mantra — “what’s the most important play? The next play.” — has allowed the Titans to maintain composure in tense situations. That mentality also pushed the Titans back into the title game. 

Now they hope it helps bring home the golden plaque. 

“We’re looking forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves again,” Meyerrose said. “We left something on the field last year. We don’t intend to leave it again this year.” 

If you go

Who: No. 1 The Classical Academy (15-3) vs. No. 2 Mountain View (16-2)

When: 4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Trailblazer Stadium in Lakewood