LCC Pop Warner 13U team wins WESCON Conference, on track for Super Bowl in Florida

The 9-1 La Costa Canyon 13U Mavericks football team won the West Coast Conference Division 1 championship, earning a spot in to compete at the Pop Warner National Championships in Orlando in December. The team just returned from Arizona after defeating the Arizona state champs, the OTB South Cowboys, making them one of the top eight teams in the country. The boys are hoping to take home the Super Bowl trophy and title.

“One word to describe this team would be GRIT,” said Coach Chad Colton. “The most impressive thing about this team this year is their mental toughness and ability to always be in the fight. We lost our first game of the season to a much stronger and physical team, but not one player on our team quit in that game. When the game was over, I knew we had a team and a group of players that weren’t going to back down to anyone, anytime, anyplace.”

Colton said these Mavs are the ultimate team and every player has made a contribution in every game, which makes them a tough team for opponents to game plan for. Their success this season is a testament to the work of the coaches and the buy-in for every player to put the team before self.

“This has been an amazing journey this season with this special group of players who have really bonded together for a common goal to be the best team they can be,” Colton said.

Winning the D1 West Coast Conference Championship was especially sweet for the Mavs as they beat their rival Temecula to win it all. In three seasons, they had never beaten that Temecula team but they beat them twice this year.

“To get them at their house in the regular season was a huge boost of confidence for our young men and then to do it again in the championship game was truly special,” Colton said. “To now get the opportunity to go to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Florida is incredible.”

“This is something they will remember and talk about for the rest of their lives.” Colton said. “We hope to make the entire county of San Diego proud and be a team everyone can get behind in December.”

The team includes quarterback Dax Labrum, an eighth grader at R. Roger Rowe School.

(Jack Farmer)

After working so hard this season, the Mavs are fundraising and trying to earn as much money as they can to offset the costs of the trip. To support the team, visit their Go Fund Me at bit.ly/3Esv9Wi