Junior Flames, Colts teams playing for youth football championships
Nov. 11—A handful of local youth football teams spent the past week preparing for championship games.
On Saturday, two Lodi Jr. Flames teams will play in the Central Valley Youth Football & Cheer Super Bowl when the 10U rookie squad plays Lathrop at noon, and the 12U varsity team plays Manteca at 2 p.m. Both games are at Ceres High.
Then on Sunday, the Lodi Colts novice team will play in the Delta Youth Football League Super Bowl at noon, against the Tracy Rampage at Franklin High in Stockton.
The Jr. Flames rookie 10U squad went 7-2 to earn the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, where they beat the Manteca Cowboys 34-6 and the Tracy Buccaneers 18-6, setting up the championship game. Under the leadership of had coach Raycell Blackmon, the team is led by receiver/linebacker Liam Bentz, running back/linebacker Lukas Ramey, x-back/linebacker Jayden Carroll, running back/safety Gianni Santoyo and quarterback Jaxon Moreno.
"I am so proud of our players and coaches," Blackmon said. "Every week for the last four months they have worked hard to get to where we are now. Now to get what we've worked so hard to get, that Super Bowl Ring."
The Jr. Flames' varsity 12U team is the No. 2 season after going 8-1 in the regular season. Lodi defeated the Elk Grove Gridiron 40-0 in the first round, and the Manteca Cowboys 21-14 in the semifinals.
"I am super proud of this team and the coaching staff this year,' said varsity coach Armando Godina. "We have all worked very hard to achieve this opportunity of representing the Lodi Jr. Flames in the Super Bowl. Each one of these players and coaches deserve it and I hope we can finish the job we started almost four months ago."
The varsity squad is led my middle linebacker Jaxin Baker, quarterback Brodie Jackson, running back Dillen Clarke, wing Mason Schatz and center Jacob Godina.
The Lodi Colts novice team went 6-3 in the regular season under head coach Issac Maldonado, but a 2-3 record in the North Conference left them as the fourth seed. The Colts came alive in the playoffs, beating the top-seeded Stockton Jr. Jackets 8-0 in the first round of the playoffs, with the touchdown and the 2-point conversion both coming from Benjamin Gilbert.
In the conference championship, the Colts avenged an earlier loss to the second-seeded South Stockton Vikings, allowing a long touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and then shutting down the Vikings for a 14-6 victory. Kyle Acker, the Colts' leader in rushing yards, touchdowns and tackles, ran for more than 100 yards in the win.
Along with Acker and Gilbert, the Colts are led by running back/edge rusher Walter Washington, running back/linebacker Isaac Maldonado, defensive lineman Alfredo Isoria, and the offensive line of Hector Lopez, Adrian Lopez, Dominic Aguilar, Josiah Brown, Donovan Coatney and Noah Batye.
This is the first Colts team to make the Super Bowl since joining the DYFL two years ago. The team won just one game a year ago. The Colts' varsity team came game away from the Super Bowl after going 8-1 in the regular season, with a loss to the Vikings last weekend.
