The 100’s and 115’s football teams have ended the league’s most successful season with a trip to Canton, Ohio for the Pro Football Hall of Fame National Youth Championship.
Printed on T-shirts of the Eastern Regional Junior Vikings football players is a phrase — “Your Team Vs. My Brothers.”
The motto led the 100-and 115- pound teams to their first invitations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame National Youth Championship in Canton, Ohio this weekend. The teams will potentially play up to four games from Dec. 15 to 17, depending upon wins.
“At the beginning, we were just a team, just friends,” said 100’s center Antonio Lombardi. “Now, we’ve been together since August, and we feel like brothers.”
Marking the most successful season in program history, this is the first year the Junior Vikings had two teams win championships, as the 100’s went undefeated this season with a record of 11–0, while the 115’s reached a 10–1 record.
In light of only winning a few games in recent seasons, the teams started rigorous practices back in August, making them into determined players once games started in mid-September.
“There was so much talent on the team, it was getting the kids to be unselfish,” said Jamie Russen, vice president of the program and head coach of the 100’s. “It taught them how to be teammates and not care who got the ball, who got a touchdown, because they were going to do it anyway. When there’s a lot of talented kids, there’s only one football on the field.”
As the season progressed, both teams went on to clinch league and regional championships from mid-November through early December.
In the league championship game against Burlington Township, the 100’s dominated their opponents, 20–0. After clinching this title, they were invited to play in the Chesapeake Regional Championship in Middletown, Del. The 100’s emerged with a 27–0 win over the Salem Rams and a 20–0 win over Paulsboro.
Concurrently, the 115’s ended their season with a league championship over Medford before also securing a regional championship title in Delaware. The 115’s out-scored teams 331–47 throughout the year. In a 10-game season, that record averages a score of 33–5 a game.
The teams attribute this resurrection of success to growing stronger and faster, while also gaining players from the Garnet Youth Football based in Barrington.
Although the season was chock-full of triumphs, the players faced some adversities, particularly during playoff games.
In the 100’s playoff match against Burlington City, the game was tied 13–13 at halftime, but the Vikings wound up winning the game, 27–13.
“We came back,” Lombardi said. “We had pride in ourselves.”
Similarly, during a game against Washington Township, the 115’s found themselves distracted by rowdy crowds, leading to the only game that cost them an undefeated record.
But after slipping into that midseason pit, the 115’s rechanneled their focus.
“We struggled a lot during that game. We weren’t ourselves,” said 115’s running back and Sicklerville resident Anthony Reagan. “I think we were caught in the hype.”
The team maintained that revamped diligence for the remainder of the season, as it will go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame National Youth Championship.
Emulating the Super Bowl experience, the four-day program in Ohio encompasses a series of events, including media day, award ceremonies and, of course, the championship games.
On Friday, Dec. 15, the 115’s will play against Stanwood Spartans from Washington state. The 100’s will play against the Ellenwood Vikings from Georgia.
The teams could potentially play up to four games, advancing to the next matches depending upon their wins. The National Championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 17 and is set to be broadcast on CBS.
The players plan to bring nothing short of positivity to Canton, believing if they stay true to their identifies, success will follow.
“We just have to play as ourselves, as a team, as Eastern Junior Vikings,” Reagan said. “I definitely believe we will win a National Championship.”
However, that mindset is not possible without their T-shirts’ mantra.
“We’re a unit now,” said 100’s running back Jayden Kersey. “If we play as a unit, and we play good, we can win.”
