Santa Monica Mitey-Mites youth football team defeated the Hyattsville Hawks 24-0 on Dec. 8 to capture the Under Armour Youth Football National Championship in their division.
Rodney Crayton, Donovan Parks, Zachary Freeman, and Logan Solberg scored for the Mitey Mites in the victory, according to coach DeAndre Parks. Quarterback Gus Workman connected a long pass with Workman and Freeman scored on a sweep play from mid-field. Early in the tournament, the Mitey Mites defeated the Stafford (Va.) Tigers 33-12 and the Marlboro (Md.) Gators, 19-6.
Another Santa Monica youth football team, in the midget division, played defending three-time national champion Naperville (Ill.) Patriots for third place after beating Chesapeake Bay (Mass.)Tigers 13-6. The midgets then lost for the first time in 18 games to Scottsdale (Ariz.) Firebirds in the second round.
“We were a wildcard and they were going to put us in Division 2,” said coach Aaron Buckner. Instead, the team got bumped to Division 1, where “we’re playing the very best,” he added.
For the midgets, tailback Anthony Wilbur has stood out, carrying the ball for 100-plus yards in both games and scoring a touchdown. Daniel Collins recovered a punt in the Stafford game and ran it for a touchdown, while also contributing 15 tackles on defense. “Defensively, he’s playing the lights out,” Buckner said.
“We feel pretty good about where we’re at,” Buckner said. “It was a much tougher game than the score [of the Scottsdale loss] indicated. They had five big passing plays that cost us.”
