A group of Oxford third-graders turned into flag football studs over the weekend of Nov. 12-13 as they won the Michigan Youth Flag Football Championship.
Playing in a Lake Orion flag football league, the little warriors from Oxford, which included Aidan Regan, Joe Roeher, Brendan Moore, Jake Dawood, Nate Schroeder, Mitchell Travis, Max Rehandorf and Nick Soukup, banded together to form the Lake Orion Eagles.
Competing in a five on five format, Eagles head coach Paul Schroeder had to rotate each kid in and out on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
‘We keep it where they are getting equal amounts of playing time for the most part,? Schroeder said.
The preliminary rounds took place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Walled Lake Northern High School. After winning both preliminary games, one of which went into triple overtime, the Eagles defeated the 49ers in the quarterfinals.
They would square off against the Canton Rams in a rematch from the regular season.
The Eagles would defeat the Rams and face the Lake Orion Titans in the state finals. One of the two Eagles losses came at the hands of the Titans.
Neither team would score in regulation, but the Eagles would pull out a thrilling 7-6 victory to claim the state championship.
Schroeder said he was proud of the way his players competed throughout the day.