Local team wins Pacific Northwest Region title with ease to
clinch city’s first national championship tournament berth in 38
years
WOODSIDE
The Morgan Hill Midget Raiders routed Douglas, Nev., 28-0 to win the Pacific Northwest Region title. How will they celebrate?
They’re going to Disney World — and the Pop Warner Division II National Championships.
On the biggest stage yet, the locals proved their worth as “Super Bowl” contenders Saturday at Woodside High School in their typical dominant fashion.
Jesse Osuna and Jacob LeDon rushed for two touchdowns apiece and ran with authority behind their offensive line — tackles Daniel Dunham and Willie Long, guards Josh Araiza and Ryan Quadros, center John Ziyada and tight ends Michael Porras and Andrew Arnold — and Frankie Gomez intercepted two of Douglas’ three passes to help Morgan Hill total its 10th shutout this season.
The Peninsula League champion Raiders (10-1 overall) scored all of their points in the first half, including a 50-yard touchdown run by Osuna on the second play from scrimmage, and quickly took the Tigers out of the game.
Morgan Hill’s defense allowed two first downs.
“To be honest, my first thought was, ‘Wow.’ I knew we’d be OK, but I didn’t see this happening,” said Raiders coach Steve Sorce, whose team is Morgan Hill’s first to reach the national championship tournament in 38 years. “Nothing makes me happier than to see my 25 boys experience something most won’t do in their lifetime. It’s something huge.
“These guys are eighth- and ninth-graders, and to be able to take a plane to Florida; most of them have never flown.”
The Raiders are staying on the Disney World campus in Orlando, Fla., and will play at least two games in the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex in nearby Lake Buena Vista. The Division II field includes seven other teams from Hawaii, Michigan, Connecticut, Arkansas, Louisiana and Florida. Morgan Hill opens against the Wailuku (Hawaii) Rainbows at noon local Saturday. Coverage can be found on ESPN3.com.
Sorce doesn’t know what to expect from the competition, but he is confident his team can play with anyone.
“We’re going to see a lot of talent and speed,” he said. “One thing we have going for us is ball control. We’re a ground and pound kind of team, and the only way to eliminate facing the other team’s offense is to keep them off the field. We’re big and strong up front, so we can move the ball and run the clock down.”
Osuna and LeDon are usually good for 3 to 5 yards a carry, but the bruising ball-carriers found the end zone on trap plays good for 50 yards or more. LeDon broke loose from about 60 yards out for Morgan Hill’s second touchdown, and Osuna scored again on a 40-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 21-0.
Porras set up the fourth touchdown when he caught an out pass from Dalton Craig and rumbled for a 25-yard gain, plowing through a defender at the 3-yard line. LeDon scored on the next play.
After Douglas (8-2) made adjustments at halftime, the Raiders were held scoreless the rest of the game but did not get complacent — part of the formula behind their success this fall.
“My staff and me have done what we can to keep them strong and focused,” Sorce said. “But the work ethic has been there since our first practice. If you can make it through my offseason program, you can it make it through anything.
“The staff and players have bought into our philosophy, and that’s why we’re here.”
The Raiders left for Florida on Thursday following four days of perpetual chaos. Getting a Pop Warner club across country is a tough enough task on the football field; the team also had to complete a mountain of paperwork and raise funds totaling an estimated $2,000 per player.
“We couldn’t do anything until we qualified,” Morgan Hill team mom Becky Sorce, wife of Steve, said. “That means we had to wait until we won the last game to start planning flights, hotel arrangements and working on getting the kids out of school for independent study.
“It’s a lot of work getting money together during the holiday season and with the current economy. No family really plans for something like this.”
The Raiders received significant financial support from the community. They lined up sponsorships through local businesses, accepted donations at Oakland Raiders games and hosted pancake breakfasts and car washes to raise money.
They got the job done just in time.
“We’re lucky to have the kind of support for local sports here in Morgan Hill,” Steve Sorce said. “We couldn’t do this without the community. That’s who we’re playing for.”
