The top seeds in the Six Rivers Youth Football AA playoffs lived up to their billing as the team to beat this year.
On Sunday the Northern Knights capped a dominating season with a 13-0 win over Eel River Valley in the championship game at Hoopa, completing a perfect 9-0 campaign.
And while the offense and special teams took care of business once again in the championship game with a pair of touchdowns, it was the team defense that really paved the way to this year’s championship.
The Knights outscored all nine of their opponents by double digits, as the defense held all but one of them to seven or less points.
“The offense was explosive and we probably averaged five touchdowns a game,” head coach Mick Torres said. “But the thing that stood out is we only allowed three offensive touchdowns all season.”
The young Knights outscored their two playoff opponents 54-7, and their two touchdowns in the the championship proved to be more than enough.
Antonio Aguirre opened the scoring in the championship game, returning a punt a for touchdown in the second quarter, before quarterback Dean Rasmussen combined with Arik Anglin on a 65-yard TD pass in the third.
And with the team defense dominating once again there was no way back for their opponents after that.
This is a team that started the season fast and continued to improve each week, showcasing a willingness to learn and improve.
The players also overcame some early-season adversity when starting quarterback Dominic Robinette was lost for the season with an injury in the opening weekend.
To fill the void, Torres and the coaches went to Rasmussen, who had never played football before this year but quickly adapted and answered the call with a big season.
And he inspired his teammates with more than just his play.
“Whenever he threw an interception or anything like that, I told him on the sideline, ‘hey Dean there’s two things that are always guaranteed with a spread offense — drop passes and interceptions. Don’t get down on yourself, I’m not mad at you,’” Torres said. “That led to the team having just great mental toughness when it came to mistakes they made in the game.”
Many of the players also played on last year’s championship team and the experience and familiarity with the coaches helped them hit the ground running this season.
“The one thing they did really well was paying attention when it mattered,” the coach added. “Everyone did really well just learning.”
And the players continued to develop all season.
“Once they clicked, wow, you could see their ability to put everything else behind them,” the coach added. “Things slowed down for them and they really started coming together and finding their identity.
“And once they did that they were really unstoppable.”
The championship roster also included John Tagaropolous, Jameson Tyson, Jace Johnson, Beckston Fisher, Elyas Manzi, Braxton Burlison, Michael Hostler, Jackson Christiansen, Joshua Bradshaw, Braxton Tripp, Akai Judge, William Strohbin, Joseph Basette, Jon Omey, Ridge Sandifer, Waiatupu Neemia, Killian Kamberg, Jace Davis, Ayden Achane, Elijah Toribio, Levi Pearlstein, Luca Maggio, Terris Ballard and Dayshia Dunn, as well as assistant coaches Brandon Rasmussen, Stan Kopiej, Jon Omey, Jordan Black, Matt Anglin, Mike Tripp and Scott Robinette.
But it wasn’t just the players who made this a season to remember.
“I really think that the coaches and parents came through in a big way,” Torres said. “It really made a difference and made the job easier for me.”
