Entering Tuesday’s semifinals in the Romeoville flag football regional, Bradley-Bourbonnais was the top seed and had to play No. 9 Plainfield Central, which beat Plainfield North on Monday to advance and earn the right to play the Boilermakers.

On paper, it looked like it would be a mismatch, as Bradley-Bourbonnais entered with a record of 14-2 and Plainfield Central, playing in its inaugural season, was 9-8.

Someone forgot to tell the Wildcats, though, and they got a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Alyssa Link and a two-point conversion pass from Link to Ella Page with 20.6 seconds left to pull off the 28-21 upset.

“I don’t usually run the ball,” Link said. “But, we wanted to try something different that they hadn’t seen. We all just trust each other and we were able to get the job done.

“Our defense did a great job all game. Again, we trust each other, and we really thrive off of our momentum.”

The Wildcats started to build their momentum in the third quarter after trailing 14-6 at halftime. After stopping Bradley-Bourbonnais on downs on the opening drive of the third quarter, Plainfield Central (10-8), which clinched a winning season in its first year, drove 50 yards on nine plays, the last a 4-yard TD pass from Link to Zola Dominguez, to pull to within 14-12.

Again, the Central defense was up to the task and forced a Boilermaker punt. The Wildcats took over at their own 32.

On the first play, Grace Flanagan took a handoff to the right side. The Wildcats’ Shania Davison was coming the other direction, and it looked like a reverse. Flanagan kept the ball, however, and most of the Boilermaker defense chased Davison. Flanagan sped 68 yards around the right end for a touchdown, and Link’s conversion pass to Page put Central ahead 20-14 with 9:07 to play.

“I just read the defense,” Flanagan said. “I saw that they were going for Shania, so I just kept it and trusted my speed and athleticism to get me to the end zone. I just kept running until someone told me to stop.

“It feels amazing to beat the top seed and get to the regional championship game. All of the hard work we have put in this year paid off.”

It wasn’t over, though, as Bradley-Bourbonnais showed why they had such a good record and the top seed. The Boilermakers drove 86 yards on nine plays, with quarterback Elise Munsterman scoring on a 12-yard run, then passing to Amber Melchor for the conversion and a 21-10 lead with just 3:47 to play.

Central got a 26-yard pass from Link to Alyssa Page before the 2:00 warning. Flanagan then ran for a seven-yard gain, and a penalty on Bradley-Bourbonnais put the ball at the Boilers’ 45. On 3rd and goal from the 10, Davison ran for a 6-yard gain, and another Bradley-Bourbonnais penalty put the ball on the 2 before Link ran it in for the win.

“That was insane,” Plainfield Central coach Jenna Malak said. “These girls just wanted to win. In all of our games, we have only had a few big losses, so these girls never gave up. It’s all about confidence, and these girls never lost their confidence.

“We didn’t give up a score in the second quarter and we were able to get one before halftime and keep it close. Maesyn Overman was huge for us on defense, getting some big stops and sacks that allowed us to kind of reset our offense. This team’s sense of the game from when the season started until now has just gotten so much better. They understand the plays and what is open and what isn’t. We got hot at the right time and we hope it continues.”

The Wildcats’ season will continue Thursday at 5 p.m. against Romeoville, which pulled off an upset of its own as the No. 5 Spartans beat No. 4 Bolingbrook 19-0. Last season, Romeoville beat Bolingbrook to win the regional championship.

Milan Cadet had a pair of touchdown runs for Romeoville (15-4), while quarterback Jenna Jarmus also scored on the ground.

Romeoville’s defense was stingy, allowing Bolingbrook to run just two plays beyond the 50-yard line in the first three quarters. The Raiders, meanwhile, stopped Romeoville twice inside the 10-yard line to keep things close at 13-0 at halftime.

Bolingbrook forced a Romeoville punt on the opening drive of the second half and Myia Harris returned it from her own 45 to the Romeoville 19. On the first play, the Raiders threw for the end zone, but the Spartans’ Natalie Pina intercepted it in the end zone and returned it to the 50. Romeoville scored on a 1-yard run by Jarmus to take a 19-0 lead. In last year’s regional championship game, Pina returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against the Raiders.

“I thought I might get another one,” Pina said. “I returned one all the way last year, but they were able to catch me this time. We won the regional last year and we want to try and match that this year.

“We worked really well as a team tonight. We were all doing all we could, and we lifted each other up.”

Romeoville coach Chaz Kuhn was pleased with his team’s effort.

“Bolingbrook is a strong team,” he said. “Defensively, they gave us problems. Milan Cadet is one of the leading receivers in the state, and she had to score her two touchdowns on run plays.

“Our defense came ready to play tonight. Delilah Carli made big plays for us on both offense and defense, and Elani Trejo and Peyton Williams played great at linebacker. We have to come ready to play again Thursday. We saw tonight that the seed is just a number and you have to be ready to play or your season will be over.”