Front Royal’s 11-under Wildcats eliminated from Hall of Fame tournament

The 2018 Front Royal 11-U Wildcats in Richmond – Courtesy Photos/Coach Chris Ballard

The Front Royal 11-and-under Youth Football Wildcats saw their dream season come to an end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame World Youth Championship Regionals in Richmond the weekend of November 29 to December 2.

The 11-0 Wildcats, sporting a 345-6 scoring margin over Apple Valley Youth Football League opponents, fell 21-6 to the South Hill Patriots – but we’re going to put an asterisk on the loss since the tournament committee allowed West Virginia’s 12-and-under Patriots – it figures it would be the Patriots – to compete against an 11-and-under Virginia opponent.

Coach Chris Ballard said his team played well – the game was tied at 6 until late in the second quarter when South Hill scored to take a 13-6 lead into halftime.

Front Royal then threatened to knot the game in the third quarter, driving to the South Hill one yard line where they turned the ball over on downs. South Hill added an insurance score late in the fourth quarter for the final margin of 21-6.

Coach Ballard said there were only two teams in this regional division, so the South Hill-Front Royal matchup was the championship game. While not using the age difference as an excuse – he noted his team failed on two scoring opportunities – he did say in response to a question that height was the most notable difference between the two teams.

The coin toss prior to the 11/12-U Richmond Regional Championship matchup between South Hill and Front Royal.

And while there will be no ticket to Canton, Ohio for the Pro Football Hall of Fame World Youth Championship finals, we salute Front Royal’s Wildcats for a season to remember. As readers may recall in our reporting on the Wildcats run up to the Hall of Fame Richmond Regional, the team carried not only an unbeaten 10-0 record into their Apple Valley Youth Football League Championship game against the Fauquier Cougars, but their defense was unscored-upon to that point as well.

And while the Cougars ended the defense’s season-long shutout string, Front Royal’s 15-6 league title win carried their scoring margin over 11 games on the season to the above noted 345-6 margin.

It wasn’t just the defense – the Wildcat offense moves on an opponent’s endzone during its remarkable 11-0 Apple Valley Youth Football League season.

So even without Canton, Royal Examiner salutes the Front Royal 11-U Wildcats for a season for the ages. Congratulations to Coach Ballard, his staff of Bobby Vorous, Matthew Ballard, Blake Steele and Paul Saloman and the Wildcat players: Cody Saloman (G-DE), Nathan Ballard (QB), Lance Dodson (NG), Josiah Sutphin (TE-DE), Damien Thompson (G-LB), Carmello Copeland (TE-DE), Aiden Boyles (C), Gideon Fusaro (TE), Brady Kaufman (RB), Brandon Phillips (G), Kobe Mason (RB-CB), Nicholas DeSantis (LB), Michael Hooper (RB-S), TyRay Taylor (TE-LB), Adrian Craig (G-DE), Cameron Kent (G), Colton Talley (T), Treyvonne Washington (RB-S), Landon Bryant (RB-LB), Cole Britton (RB-LB), Daniel Athey (T-DT), Liam Spurlock (T-DT), Marcus Smith (T-DT), Andre Ford (TE-CB), and Tyler Hyers (G).

We remind readers of Coach Ballard’s assessment of his squad as “a bit undersized but extremely disciplined” and the Pro Football Hall of Fame tournament selection committee criteria for selection to qualify for regional play including “big-play ability” and “Team Character” – the latter defined through a “showcasing of values, teamwork and respect for the game, each other and coaches.”

So as Royal Examiner said in wishing the Wildcats well in Richmond, “win, lose or draw down the stretch, you Wildcats have been singled out, not only for your record, but for your team character, values and respect for the game” – and THAT in our book makes you champions forever.

GREAT job Wildcat coaches and players!!!