For the second consecutive year, the Southern Marin Broncos, from Marin County, California, sent a team to the American Youth Football Division 2 national championships. As documented here, the Bronco Jr. Midgets won the national championship in 2009. The 2010 Jr. Peewees earned third place at the Nationals, losing only to the eventual champions from Shabbona, an Illinois powerhouse.
2010 also marked the first year the Broncos competed in the NorCal Conference. As a Division 2 team, they acquitted themselves well; all five teams earned playoff berths and four of the teams made the finals. That’s a spectacular showing in their first year, considering that some of the teams they faced were from Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose, areas with many more kids to draw from. (Continued below.)
Across the country, the Tuscarora Jr. Titans of Maryland were flexing their muscles in the Mountain Valley Youth Football League. The MVYFL offers three levels of play for kids who are not yet in high school. All three Tuscarora teams earned playoff spots and two teams were crowned champions.
The Titans JV entry swept through its division undefeated. The varsity team lost one game during the regular season before dominating the playoffs. (Continued below.)
Continuing the Broncos’ tale
It was more than a little ironic that the Jr. Peewees drew Shabbona in the opening round of the Nationals because the two organizations had a history. The prior year, Shabbona’s Jr. Midgets arrived at the AYF Nationals as the Division 2 defending champion. The Broncos toppled them in the finals. In 2010, Shabbona roared through the Jr. Peewee bracket, winning each match handily after dispensing with the Broncos. The Broncos went on to earn third-place honors.
In the NorCal Conference, you can bet that Elk Grove wishes that Southern Marin hadn’t joined. The Elk Grove team placed five teams in the semifinals of the playoffs and four of them suffered defeats at the hands of Bronco teams.
The Jr. Peewees won their conference championship, defeating Elk Grove, after losing only once in the regular season. That loss was to Division 1 Antelope. The Cadet, Peewee and Midget teams reached championship games, only to lose. Still, this remarkable showing is a testimonial to the breadth of the Southern Marin program.
Continuing the Tuscarora Jr. Titans story
Tuscarora plays in the Mountain Division of the MVYFL, but the altitude didn’t effect their defensive effort. During the 9-game regular season, the Jr. Titan Varsity allowed only 35 points. How good was that? The next best Varsity team allowed 110 points. Their defensive dominance continued in the playoffs … they shut out all three of their playoff opponents.
The Jr. Varsity played excellent defensive as well, allowing only 37 points in 9 regular season games. But their claim to fame was offense: they racked up 294 points, 68 points more than the next prolific offense. In their three playoffs games, they outscored their opponents 94-10.
The final defensive tally for the Varsity and Jr. Varsity: 82 points surrendered in 24 games, including playoffs. That’s fewer than 4 points per game. It seems they grow them tough in the mountains of Maryland.
Hey! Why isn’t my team mentioned?
Every organization that provides youth sports programs deserves recognition. Tell us about your group and we’ll consider it for our next set of recognitions. Just go to the top of this blog, click on “Submit Story,” and give us some details. We’ll get back to you promptly.
This particular category recognizes quality throughout all levels of play and is not limited to football.
To keep up with the latest Sports Stories "Like" the SportsDashboards page on Facebook or "Follow" us @SportsDashboard on Twitter.
Sports Stories is a service of SportsDashboards. SportsDashboards saves Athletic Directors and League Presidents time by bringing all registration, payment and communication online with easy to use web Dashboards for Coaches, Players and Parents. Click on the SportsDashboards icon in the top right corner to learn more.
Tags: AYF, Football, Southern Marin Broncos, Tuscarora Jr. Titans
