The Brandon Junior Blackhawks freshman football team lost a 30-6 contest against the Brighton Bulldogs Orange in the SYFC Super Bowl Nov. 9.
The Brandon team, which represented the National division in the annual championship game, was clearly outmatched by the bigger Brighton players, who represented the American division. Said head coach Matt Barger, ‘The kids did everything we asked them to: they did nothing wrong, they worked hard and played to the best of their abilities, but we were outmatched. We played as hard as we could. I have no regrets.
Barger named Shane Mahaffey as game MVP for scoring Brandon’s touchdown, with honorable mentions to Zach Fernandez and Craig Hampton, who helped with the three-down drive for the goal within 18 inches of the end zone. A couple of eye-popping tackles earned Eric West outstanding defensive player.
For football parent Melissa Francis, the best part about the game was the way the players behaved afterward. ‘It was great. They held their helmets in the air, they held their heads high. They were totally triumphant. No one was bummed about losing at all, they were just so happy to have made it to the Super Bowl.?