It’s the fourth consecutive year that Plant City has hosted the United Youth Football League National Championship Tournament, and the action is going just as strong as ever.
Over 100 teams from all over the United States have been grinding it out at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex since Sunday, Dec. 7, and there has been no shortage of entertainment. Fortunately for residents of the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, several Plant City-area teams have been competing.
Five local teams — four Plant City Dolphins squads and one Dover Patriots team — are competing in several of the tournament’s 14 age groups.
Results from Wednesday and Thursday’s games were not available at press time.
MIGHTY MITES
In a nine-team field, the Plant City Dolphins came out of the gate strongly.
They opened up the first round of play Dec. 7 against the Tidewater Redskins, riding a dominant defensive effort to a 13-0 win and sending the visitors to the consolation bracket early.
In Monday’s quarterfinals action, they found a tougher challenge in the Bristol Wardogs. The two teams played a slobber-knocker of a game, with Plant City coming out on the winning end of a 26-20 final score.
After a one-day rest period, the Dolphins took on the Staten Island Hurricanes in the semifinal match. The winner will face the winner of the Scottsdale Firebirds-Homewood Flossmoor Vikings game on Field 4 at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12.
UPDATE: The Plant City Dolphins handed the Staten Island Hurricanes their first loss in several years, 18-12, and will face the Homewood Flossmoor Vikings in the championship game – which has been reassigned to Field 1 at 3 p.m.
JUNIOR PEE-WEE DIVISION 1
The first Junior Pee-Wee division also consists of nine teams, one of which is another Plant City squad.
This Dolphins team didn’t play until Dec. 8, earning a first-round bye. They faced a Mount Vernon Razorbacks team that had just come off of a 20-7 win over the Pinellas Park Thunderbirds, a win that certainly brought some momentum into the quarterfinal from the get-go.
Things didn’t go so well for the local boys, who took a 40-12 loss to the Razorbacks and ended up in the consolation bracket. They also earned a first-round bye, and faced the G.T.O.P. Sabres. The winner of that game will play the winner of Pinellas Park-Oxford Raiders Friday, Dec. 12, for the fourth-place spot, and that game will be held on Field 5 at 3 p.m.
The championship game will be held on Field 1 at the same time.
JUNIOR PEE-WEE DIVISION 2
This division is evenly balanced, with 12 teams, and also features the Dover Patriots.
The boys from the west started things off on Sunday with a 15-7 first-round win over the Westchester Grenades. That gave them confidence heading into the Dec. 8 quarterfinal matchup with the Addison Cowboys, who received a first-round bye.
Unfortunately for Dover, the Cowboys’ offensive attack proved to be tough to contain in the early morning. The Patriots ended up taking a 35-14 loss, which put them in the consolation bracket.
Dover took on the Norfolk Rams Thursday morning, and the winner of that game will face the winner of Eastway Ducks-Shabbona Saints for fourth place Friday, Dec. 1. That game will be held on Field 6 at 1 p.m.
The championship game will be held on Field 1 at the same time.
JUNIOR MIDGET DIVISION 1
The Plant City Dolphins Midgets team, coming off of a one-point loss in the Superbowl, competed in the first Junior Midgets division, a small field of seven teams.
Plant City started things off with a game against the Bustleton Bengals, with the winner slated to face the Staten Island Hurricanes — the only team to get a first-round bye. Bustleton ended up getting the better of the Dolphins, however, and sent the team down to the consolation bracket.
The Dolphins did manage to get a first-round bye in that bracket, and faced the Mint Hill Steelers on Wednesday, Dec. 10 in the fourth-place game.
The Bengals ended up making the championship game, and the other semifinal game between the Brooklyn Renegades and G.C. Cowboys was rescheduled to Wednesday afternoon. Bustleton will face the winner of that on Field 4, at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12.
ALL-STARS
Last year’s Plant City Dolphins All-Star team made waves in the UYFL tournament, winning the whole thing and adding another great line item to its resume.
This year, the boys came back to try and recapture that success.
They got started on Dec. 8, with a 6-0 win over the Florida Stars in the late afternoon. The following day, they took on the Blue Chip All-Stars in a double-overtime thriller that had fans from both sides going crazy. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Blue Chip grinded its way to a 34-32 win to end the night.
Plant City got another chance to win on Wednesday, taking on the Florida Knight Dogs. At press time, the date and location of the Dolphins’ final game had yet to be determined. If they’re playing Friday, Dec. 12, it will be against Chicagoland at either Field 1 or 4.
To view all brackets, visit http://www.unitedyfl.com/sites/default/files/brackets/2014brackets.htm. Viewers can switch between brackets by using the tabs at the bottom-left corner of the window.