The NFL’s Carolina Panthers may be the most popular undefeated team right now, but they haven’t made it look as easy as the Plant City Dolphins Mighty Mites.
Not counting preseason action, the Mighty Mites have been unstoppable: 10-0 in TCYFCC regular-season action, 3-0 in the road to the Superbowl and a particularly dominant 2-0 stretch in the 2015 United Youth Football League National Championships.
“It’s been pretty good,” head coach Doug Bailey says. “It’s all because of the hard work and dedication of the boys. They’re very coachable 5- and 6-year olds.”
TCYFCC
While most teams that go undefeated would claim to have started liking their odds later in a season, Bailey says that the entire Mighty Mites program became confident as early as the preseason “Buddy Bowl” matchup with the East Bay Bucs.
“After the Buddy Bowl, I started thinking we had a chance,” Bailey says. “I was confident in the boys, based on their performance.”
In addition, Bailey says that his coaching staff stepped up in a big way to help the boys.
“A lot of it was the coaching staff,” he says. “They blended well with each other. We all had one goal: to teach the kids as much as possible. Our motto was, ‘Un-coachable kids become unemployable adults.’”
Plant City got creative on offense, using several different schemes to keep opponents on their toes in each game. The wildcat (moving the running back under center and lining up the quarterback elsewhere) was a large part of the scheme, and they dubbed it the “monster.” They ran a T-formation, where a fullback lines up in the middle of the backfield with running backs to his immediate left and right. And they also used the pistol, which is about halfway between a typical, under-center formation and the shotgun. The Dolphins didn’t pass often, but some highlights include a 60-yard touchdown pass and some extra point conversions.
On defense, the team kept things simpler. They ran a 4-4 “dolphin” and a 5-3 “shark” formation, which meant using either four defensive linemen and linebackers at one time (with a safety moving down to play in the middle), or five defensive linemen and three linebackers (moving a linebacker onto the defensive line). At its best, the schemes shut down the run and, because of the nature of Mighty Mite-level football, the opposing offense in general.
After the Tampa Chiefs had to forfeit their scheduled Week 1 game, the Dolphins headed into their Week 3 bye with a 25-13 win over the Brandon Broncos. From that point on, they averaged well over 20 points per game and only gave up more than 12 points once, against their eventual Superbowl opponents: the Brandon Lions.
As the top seed in the playoffs, they made the Superbowl with a 49-24 win over the Brandon Cowboys and a 31-0 win over the Bucs. In the Superbowl, though, the Lions came to play.
While the Dolphins led the entire game, the final score ended up being 26-21. Brandon running back Cameron Battle nearly led his team out of a 20-8 deficit and into a win, but the Dolphins’ defense held steady. The Dolphins team finally did what it set out to do: finished on top of the TCYFCC from wire to wire.
“The Superbowl was our goal all year,” Bailey says. “That’s the game that sticks with me most.”
But, they weren’t done yet.
UYFL
As tournament hosts, the Dolphins always have a strong presence at the UYFL National Championship tournament. This year, only the Mighty Mites made it to the end.
They dominated their two opponents, with a combined score of 67-0.
After the Maryland Buccaneers came those Brandon Lions, one more time. It was a grinder, despite the 21-0 final score.
“That game came down to the boys,” Bailey says. “It was the most intense game all year … Their ability to fight the adversity helped them win. Physical, emotional game.”
The Mighty Mite boys are a little too young for Tournament of Champions play, so the season is over at 15-0.
Bailey says he won’t be back next season, as he wishes to move up to either Pee Wees or Midgets to coach one of his two sons. Whoever takes over for him will have big shoes to fill, but the boys will be up for it: these Dolphins have proven that they’re the mightiest mites in the league.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.