Youth football teams advance in playoffs
The playoffs got off to an exciting start for the Barstow Community Football teams, including a triple overtime win for the Aztecs Mitey Mite 2 team. Four of the five teams are moving on to the next round.
The Barstow Mitey Mite 2 team, which is based at Fort Irwin, beat the Victorville Cowboys 40-33 at Marconi Park in Adelanto to advance to the championship game against IWV Burros White at 8 a.m. Sunday at Kerr McGee Youth Sports Complex in Ridgecrest.
Both teams were tied 33-33 at the end of regulation and went into overtime. Overtime rules at this level are similar to college rules, where each team gets an opportunity to score, but teams start at the 10-yard line and are given four plays to score a touchdown.
Michael Lewis punched in a touchdown to start the third overtime series and the Cowboys couldn’t match, giving Barstow the win.
“I was ecstatic just like all the other coaches,” coach George Lewis said. George is Michael’s dad. “We were all jumping around like kids in a candy store.
“We knew they could pull it off, it was just amazing that they did.”
For the Azecs, the triple overtime win was just another hurdle to climb in a season full of them.
The Aztecs have overcome everything from building a brand new program for the military base to losing their coach at midseason.
“We just pulled together,” said Mitey Mite 2 Athletic Director Veronica Lewis, George’s wife. “No matter how our season has gone we pulled together.”
The team started up in a partnership with Barstow Community Football this season. Previously Fort Irwin didn’t have a youth tackle football program. Coach Chad Caylor helped lead the charge to put the program together and coach but couldn’t finish out the season due to knee surgery.
Veronica said several coaches have stepped to replace Caylor. Due to rotations in the Box — the desert training area with simulation Iraqi villages at Fort Irwin — coaches aren’t always available for every practice, still the
Aztecs have made due and banded together.
Despite playing with less players than other teams and putting up a 2-6 record during the regular season, the Aztecs managed to work their way into the championship game. One of those two regular season games came against the Burros.
“I just want to stress how committed our families are,” Veronica said. “We are really proud.”
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4124 or
mpeters@desertdispatch.com
