Mitey Mite Football Off to Super Bowl

Eight-year-old Jaden Cho, who plays tight end and cornerback for the Redondo Beach Sea Hawks Mitey Mite football team, may not be old enough to have seen favorite football player Joe Montana play live, but he can utter the famous phrase the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback said after winning the Lombardi Trophy: "I'm going to Disney World."

Along with the rest of the team, Cho is headed to the Magic Kingdom, but this time, it's for the Super Bowl—the Pop Warner Super Bowl, that is.

The 19-member Sea Hawks will take on the Colts of Harvey, IL, at 12:30 p.m. PST on Saturday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. A total of eight Mitey Mite teams will be vying for the championship crown.

Along with other games during the Pop Warner Football Championships, the Sea Hawks' game on Saturday may be broadcast via the Internet on ESPN3.

The Redondo Beach Mitey Mites team is made up of second, third and fourth graders (ages 7-9) who competed this season in the Southern California Conference (SCC) as a member of the WESCON Region—which includes Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii—of Pop Warner Football. 

Under the guidance of head coach David Vargas, the Sea Hawks put together a successful season and are being rewarded with what's assured to be a memorable trip east for the little gridders.

"This team has come together as a brotherhood," Vargas said. "They support and push each other to reach for the stars."

The kids agree.

"My teammates are my best friends. We worked hard almost every day, but we had fun, too," Sea Hawks member Noah Atenza said.

The Mitey Mites set a fundraising goal of $20,000 to help with travel expenses for their Florida trip. This is the first time the Redondo Beach community will be represented in the Pop Warner Super Bowl.

"I am amazed by the work of the parents and players alike, working together as a unit to fundraise for this event," Vargas said.

The team came up a little shy of its goal, but put a lot of work in on the fundraising trail with local establishments such as , McDonald's, and Albertsons, not to mention several bake sales.

"We did our best with the time we were given and are extremely grateful to the community, friends, co-workers and family members that contributed," said Noah's mother, Jennifer Atenza.

The Sea Hawk roster consists of Anthony Talley, Noah Atenza, Daniel Webb, Jaden Cho, Laloifi Vaifanua, Alec Cromer, Nolan Lazar, Salvador Mata, Bailey Snyder, John Lanigan, Dominic Broessel, Justin Smith, Gregory Ovalle, Jacob Corona, Christopher Mitchem, Daniel Palma, Justin Yaskowitz, Myles Tan and Brody Snyder.

For the past 14 years, the ESPN Complex has been host to the Pop Warner Football Championships during the first week in December. This year’s event will last from Saturday until Dec. 10.

The Pop Warner Football Championships are divided into Division I and Division II. In all, 64 football teams will compete for national championships in four different age/weight ranges—Jr. Pee Wee, Pee Wee, Jr. Midget and Midget—this weekend.

Pop Warner is the only youth sports organization with an academic requirement.  Participants are expected to achieve a 2.0 grade point average and have school attendance of at least 70 percent.