Football, spirit teams heading for nationals

12 area Pop Warner squads advance

This is an exciting week for Pop Warner Little Scholars programs in the Triangle.

Three football teams, six cheerleading squads and three dance teams are preparing for next week's national championships in Florida after qualifying at this past weekend's Mid South Region championships.

The teams, part of the Triangle's Consolidated Football Federation, will leave this weekend for the Dec. 2-8 Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer and Dance Championships at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The spirit teams compete Dec. 3-7, and the Division II football teams will play Dec. 4, with winners advancing to title games Dec. 7, CCF commissioner Mike Baldwin said.

To reach nationals, football teams had to win their championships and cheerleading and dance teams had to place in the top two at this past weekend's Mid-South Region championships in and around Charlotte. The 12 advancing teams were half of the 24 CFF teams that competed in Divisions I, II and III regionals. Divisions I and II advance to national events, and Division III seasons end with region play.

"Every football team and cheerleading/dance team that represented the CFF did their usual great job, and we couldn't be prouder of all of them," Baldwin said. "Just the fact that we had the opportunity to advance is exciting and an honor."

FOOTBALL: The Capital City Steelers' Peewee and Midget teams and the Wake Forest Titans Junior Midget team won regional titles to join the 62 Division I and Division II teams at nationals.

* Division II Pee Wee: The Capital City Steelers beat the Huntsville (Ala.) Sting 24-16.

* Division II Junior Midget: The Wake Forest Titans beat the Decatur (Ala.) Chiefs 20-6.

* Division II Midget: The Capital City Steelers defeated the Suffolk (Va.) Steelers 13-0.

In Division I, the CFF's Durham War Eagles Pee Wee team was eliminated by Charlotte's Coul Oak Panthers 34-0.

In Division III, the Wilders Grove Wolfpack defeated the Belmont Red Raiders 32-0 to take the Pee Wee title, and the Durham Silver Eagles played for the Division III Junior Midget title but were edged by the Suffolk (Va.) Steelers 23-19.

CHEERLEADING: Six CFF teams will compete in Florida.

* In the Junior Midget (ages 10-13) Division, the Apex Cougars advanced to Florida in the Small Novice competition.

* In Junior PeeWee (ages 8-11), the North Raleigh Bulldogs Small Novice team will compete.

* In the Midget (ages 11-15), the Small Novice teams from the Wake Forest Titans and the Wilders Grove Wolfpack will make the trip.

* In the PeeWee (ages 9-12), the Small Novice teams from the Garner Trojans and Sanford Sting advanced.

Other cheer teams in the area also advanced. Teams from Coastal Pop Warner were the Wilmington Bengals Junior Midget Small Intermediate, the Coastal Panthers PeeWee Large Novice and the Roger Bacon Academy Vikings Junior Pee Wee Large Intermediate and the Midget Small Intermediate. The Havelock Rams of Eastern North Carolina Pop Warner advanced in the Midget Large Intermediate competition.

In cheer and dance, "Small" category teams have 19 or fewer competitors; "Large" squads have 20 to 35 members.

DANCE: Two teams from the Durham-based Tri County Panthers advanced -- the Junior Pee Wee Small (ages 8-11) and the Midget Small (ages 11-15) -- along with the Cleveland Wildcats Midget Small team, all from the Consolidated Football Federation.

Advancing from Coastal Pop Warner in Wilmington was the Roger Bacon Academy Junior PeeWee Small team.

The Wildcats, who took first place in local and regional events, are trying to raise about $3,000 to help with travel costs, said Charles Naylor, father of competitor Nikki Naylor.

The team will hold a garage sale and will sell chicken and fish plates for $6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the old Cleveland Middle School. The team also will sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the Food Lion stores on N.C. 42 and N.C. 210 just off Interstate 40. Donations also are being accepted; call L.J. Frederick at (919) 989-6468, Julie Scalsky at (919) 630-4467 or Cynthia Dance at (919) 696-9605 or (919) 359-1862.

Other teams also need funds. Contacts can be found online through the CFF Web site at www.cff-popwarner.com.

Follow the championships at www.popwarner.com.