[taxthedeer]

The Northern Indiana Pop Warner Little Scholars Football Division II League Championships will take place this Sunday (11-08-09) starting at noon at Ames Field. I encourage everyone to come out. Games scheduled are:

Noon

Jr. Pee Wee Game

Michigan City
VS.
Southlake (Lowell)

2 PM

Pee Wee Game

Michigan City
VS.
Tri-Town (Schererville/Dyer/St. John)

4 PM

Jr. Midget Game

Michigan City
VS.
Gary

I'd also like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone to Buck and Ray Ray, their team will be playing at noon, (I'm extremely proud of these two guys ):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpJ07AsNI0

[Southsider2k12]

Amazing season for the top squad, as they didn't give up a point the entire season! I owe someone a write up on them!

[taxthedeer]

CITY SWEEPS

Today's results:

Jr. Pee Wee Game

Michigan City 29
Southlake 0


Pee Wee Game

Michigan City 12
Tri-Town 8
(huge upset)

Jr.Midget Game

Michigan City 14
Gary 0

[JHeath]

Thanks for posting the results. My husband was watching plays at the game against Tri-Town...said it was a nail biter.

Its great to see the future generations of MC Football doing so well.

Go Jr Wolves!

[taxthedeer]

Thanks for posting the results. My husband was watching plays at the game against Tri-Town...said it was a nail biter.

Its great to see the future generations of MC Football doing so well.

Go Jr Wolves!

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=26923

HEART, HUSTLE & PRIDE AT AMES
Pop Warner

Nick Dettmann
Staff Writer

MICHIGAN CITY - In July, this moment seemed unlikely.

Today, it's a reality.

No pinching of the cheek necessary to make sure this wasn't a dream.

Michigan City's Junior Midget Pop Warner football team defeated the Gary Steelers 14-0 on Sunday evening to win the Northern Indiana Pop Warner Little Scholars Division II League championship.

It was a 2-for-1 special. In addition, the Wolves also claimed the Indiana state championship.

Through nine games, the Wolves are undefeated and have yet to allow a point: 271 points scored for.

Zero, nothing, zilch points scored against.

Not bad for a team that nearly didn't happen.

Just a week before practice began Aug. 1, only eight kids were registered to play on the team, some of whom were on last year's Pee Wee team, which landed one victory shy of nationals.

"Are we going to play or not?" coach Scott Kaletha recalled thinking at that point.

But a team of 20-plus kids - ages 12 and 13 - was put together. Three-plus months later, they are state champions.

"We've had a motto for years. It's 'Heart, hustle and pride'," Kaletha said. "Those kids today played with pride."

Hard work brought this team together, Kaletha added.

You couldn't wipe the smile that gleamed off his face. Enormous pride seeped off his body.

To show his appreciation, immediately after accepting the championship trophy, Kaletha turned right to his players and told them he'd love to keep the trophy, but it belongs to them.

He handed it over, and all the kids got a hand on the trophy, which is about half their size. Some of these kids are just a smidgen above 5 feet tall. Very few, if any, are 6 feet. The heaviest kid on the team? About 135 pounds. The lightest? About 92, and he's an offensive lineman.

"I can't say enough about their hard work," Kaletha said. "Everything about them is just special."

The Wolves got their first touchdown with 2:20 left in the first half on a 4-yard run by Kaletha's son, Logan, a Barker Middle School eighth-grader. Their final score came with 2:40 left in the game on a 7-yard run by Drake Dierdorf.

Logan Kaletha - the workhorse for the Wolves - finished with 85 yards rushing on 26 carries. He also caught a pass for eight yards.

"I told the boys at the beginning of the year," Kaletha said, "wherever our blocking and our line takes us is how far we're going to go. Tonight, they blocked."

Up next for the Wolves is a date in the sub-regional in two weeks in Indianapolis at Heritage Christian High School. They'll play the state champion from Michigan or Ohio.

q

Michigan City 12, Tri-Town 8

Wolves Pee Wee coach Craig Foerg, a 1995 football graduate of Hobart, aged about 10 years in a matter of minutes.

With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Wolves had the ball in first-and-goal, but came away with no points.

Four minutes later, the Wolves had the ball again in first-and-goal. This time, they succeeded.

A 3-yard touchdown run by Kyren Miller with 1:56 left in the game led City to a thrilling, 12-8 victory over the Tri-Town Raiders in Sunday's Pee Wee Northern Indiana championship game.

"(At halftime) I challenged them that I needed everything they had left in them to win the game," Foerg said. "And they did. They gave me everything."

This was a stunner, but the Wolves (9-1) had to rally to pull it off.

Prior to Saturday, the Raiders were undefeated and had allowed only six points: a 26-6 victory over these same Wolves.

The Raiders were favored to get to nationals, but the Wolves had a different idea.

"I think the fact that they beat us motivated our boys more than anything," Foerg said. "They did not want to get beat again, especially on this field."

The winning play was set-up by a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Kyle Foerg on 4th-and-1 at the 6.

While the officials measured the spot, Foerg came up to his dad on the sideline and got the next play. He was that sure his teammates got the first down.

Two plays later is when Miller found the end zone.

Tri-Town scored on a 50-yard rushing touchdown with 45 seconds left in the first half to take an 8-0 lead. That was a devastating blow to the Wolves ... at the time.

To start the second half, the Wolves got the ball and used 7:59 of the game clock and 17 plays, 16 of which were runs by Miller or Malik Brooks. The Wolves also completed a 28-yard pass play from Foerg to Dante Combs on a third-and-6.

Foerg capped the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 1:57 left in the third quarter, but the kick after attempt was blocked, keeping the score at 8-6.

"It really got our momentum back," Foerg said. "It showed we can score on them."

No touchdown? Craig Foerg said the game was going to be difficult to pull off.

After the first trip in goal-to-go, the Wolves defense forced the Raiders to a three-and-out. A shanked punt gave the Wolves the ball at Tri-Town's 15.

Six plays and a fourth and inches conversion later, Miller spun off a tackler and ran in for the score.

"It was a little more nerve-wracking than we would've liked," Foerg said. "We knew it would be a great game. But that was probably one of the best games I've ever been a part of."

Up next for the Wolves is the state championship game Saturday at Ames Field.

q

Michigan City 29, Southlake 0

Ten-year-olds Aryuan Cain-Veasey and Markice Hurt Jr. admire Adam Harmon.

They did a good impression of him Sunday.

The two hooked up for the first touchdown of the Junior Pee Wee Northern Indiana Championship. They combined for each of the Wolves' scores.

After the Wolves defense bent but didn't break on Southlake's first possession, they got the ball at their own 13-yard line with 3:12 left in the first 10-minute quarter.

On the second play of the possession, Cain-Veasey ran to the right of the offensive line, and this is where he looked like Harmon.

The 94-pounder broke a handful of tackles, shook off defenders, stopped his tracks and restarted and ran over a hopeful tackler for a 16-yard gain. Then, two plays later, Cain-Veasey took the ball from quarterback Mason Kaletha and ran to the right.

Hurt Jr. ran a short seam route inside the left hash marks.

Cain-Veasey pulled up with a defender rapidly approaching, shifted the ball down to his hand and put the ball up in the air.

"I just ran," Hurt Jr. said. "Then, everybody was like, 'Look back!' Then I'm looking back and the ball's in the air so I catch it and start running."

He out-ran three Devils defenders, looking over his shoulder the final 30-plus yards for his first touchdown catch of the season, and only his second catch of the year. It was Cain-Veasey's first touchdown pass as well.

"I was excited," Hurt Jr. said.

It was the first time they've run that play this season. It was put into the gameplan just this week leading up to the game against the Lowell-based squad.

Cain-Veasey was a little nervous.

"The person that was cutting in front of me almost hit me," he said. "So I just threw it."

Neither player was finished.

Cain-Veasey later added a 5-yard touchdown run. He was stopped initially, but kept pumping his legs and eventually emerged from the pile at the goal line for a touchdown.

Hurt Jr. scored two rushing touchdowns: one from 51 yards and one from 78 yards on the final play of the first half. Hurt Jr. carried the ball just four times for 127 yards and three touchdowns.

Cain-Veasey had just 17 yards rushing, but had the two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).

Each of these kids are the long-term future with Michigan City football.

"I think there's excitement about Michigan City football that has never been here before," said coach Mike Iacovetti, a 1987 Rogers graduate. "People were actually talking about Michigan City football. There's a buzz in this town about football.

"... The Pop Warner program; we are very strong. When these kids start filtering up, I think good things are going to happen."

Up next is the state championship game Saturday at Ames Field.

[taxthedeer]

Ten-year-olds Aryuan Cain-Veasey and Markice Hurt Jr. admire Adam Harmon.

Actually, Aryuan is 11 and Markice is 10, we simply know them both as "Buck" and "Lil' Mark", they also happen to be cousins.

Fantastic full front sports page feature in the paper this morning.

[Southsider2k12]

I know the Pop Warner story has been all over WIMS as well. Adam Parkhouse also had segment about these kids during his interview with Nick Dettman last night on the radio.

[taxthedeer]

I know the Pop Warner story has been all over WIMS as well. Adam Parkhouse also had segment about these kids during his interview with Nick Dettman last night on the radio.

When the fellas win state on Saturday, I'll get a couple of the boys call the show on Sunday so Parky can do an exclusive.