Submitted photos – Crew Hicks returns an interception during Sunday’s championship game at Albee Stadium.

The future of McKinleyville football appears to be in good hands.

On Sunday, the young McKinleyville Panthers won the Six Rivers Youth Football Conference Single-A championship for the second straight year, beating Ferndale 12-6 in overtime.

But they had to battle all the way for this one.

The two rival clubs faced off in the championship for the second straight year, and once again just one score separated them when all was said and done.

“It was a classic,” McKinleyville head coach Ryan Ahrens said.

Trailing by a touchdown late in the game, the Mustangs rallied to tie the game at 6-6 and force overtime.

McKinleyville won the toss and deferred, and the Panthers’ defense stepped up and made a crucial stop on downs.

Two plays later, Maverick Utt broke a pair of tackles on a 25-yard championship-winning TD run that secured the title and avenged a regular-season defeat to the Mustangs.

There were several standouts for McKinleyville, including eight players — Utt, Tanu Alofaituli, Reece Combs, Tyler Bradfield, Crew Hicks, Oren Baugh, Jack Ahrens and Garrison Lockard — who were a part of both championship teams over the past two seasons and were 17-1 during that run.

Hicks played a pivotal role on both sides of the ball, scoring the opening TD on Sunday and finishing with 100-plus tackles at middle linebacker this season.

One unit of the team, in particular, rose to the challenge late in the season.

Check out the game-winning TD from Sunday’s Single-A championship game below …

“Our defensive linemen and defensive ends played a big part in the last three games,” the head coach said of the unit that includes Lockard, Jack Ahrens, Kai Brunner, Blake Smith and Owen Lyons.

Combs also enjoyed a big season directing the offense at quarterback.

“He was the only quarterback we had on the team, so he had bo option but to play through the tough times,” Ryan Ahrens said. “His leadership across the board (was big). He had the offense organized.”

This year’s team featured 17 players who had never played football before, and all of them grew in stature as the season progressed.

“It was quite the task to get everybody caught up to speed, but it was really fun to see the development of each individual kid and the team week after week,” the head coach said. “We grounded out games. We found ways to win.

“There’s something very satisfying about teaching the kids the fundamentals (of the game) and seeing them succeed on the field week by week.”

The McKinleyville players and cheerleaders celebrate their championship.

Utt and Alofaituli gave McKinleyville a potent one-two punch in the offensive backfield, while the team defense “showed up every week,” according to the coach, and did an outstanding job limiting Ferndale’s offense, especially athletic and speedy running back Trey Florvilus, whom Ryan Ahrens described as the fastest kid in the league.

“We were able to win the line of scrimmage against their offense and disrupt their running game,” the Mack coach said.

This year’s championship team also included Hudson Stamm, Cameron Beasley, Lucas Wilson, Ikaika Burbank, Weston Altamirano, Asher Kapko, Jackson Stemper, Hailey Hines, Josiah Smith, Derek Mitchell, Eli Pimentel, Lucas Coelho, Tanner Cowman and Brantley Jimenez, along with assistant coaches Nate Combs, Shawn Lockard and Jr. Alofaituli. 

“They were instrumental in our season,” Ryan Ahrens said of the assistant coaches.

The Mack head coach also praise the play of the Mustangs.

“They were tough,” he said. “They were physical and they didn’t quit. They showed up.”