Youth football teams from Dixmoor and Robbins fell short of goals of bringing national playoff trophies home to the south suburbs, although the Dixmoor Vikings captured second place in Division 1 of the 11-U championship.

Dixmoor played for the second straight year at the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando, while the Robbins Eagles made its first trip in the team’s 40-year history to the American Youth Football League championship in Naples, Florida.

The Vikings won their opening round game Dec. 3, beating the Santa Barbara Seahawks from California 28-14, then advanced in the semifinals, besting another California team, the Saddleback Valley Bears, 27-16.

The 11-U squad, however, was held scoreless in the championship game, falling 26-0 to the Avalon Wolves of Florida.

Avalon had advanced in the semifinals to face Dixmoor by defeating a North Carolina team, the Capital City Steelers, 46-0.

Many of the same Dixmoor players had been part of a team that went to the Pop Warner playoffs last year, taking home second place.

Vikings coach Dwayne Tyson said Monday while the outcome wasn’t what he and players had been hoped for, the performance is still one of which they are proud.

“Being one of the top two teams in the country is amazing,” Tyson said.

Dixmoor’s 10-U team, which also advanced to the Pop Warner playoffs, ended up taking third place in its division, Tyson said.

Justin Harris, head coach for the Eagles, said his 13-U squad players were defeated by teams from Arizona and Texas in games held Dec. 3 and last Tuesday.

The Robbins team had been working to raise money for the trip, securing more than $13,000 during a village pep rally before the team left for Florida.

“The hopes were high,” Harris said. “There was a lot of pressure on the boys and we came up short.”

The Eagles were undefeated in the regular season, then beat teams from Ohio and Missouri last month to advance to the national level, representing the entire Midwest.

In past years, the team had fallen short in regional games in order to advance to the national playoffs.

Harris said although the outcome wasn’t what players had hoped for, the trip for the Eagles was still historic.

“We had so high of expectations, but we did something that wasn’t done in 40 years,” he said.

“Some of these kids that came with us had never flown on a plane before,” Harris said. “To make it to the national championship is great. We got to play against the best of the best.”

Tyson said the trip was not totally focused on football, with players and families visiting attractions such as Disney World and Sea World, where a special night had been set aside for Pop Warner teams.

“They closed the whole park off just for the teams,” he said. “All the attractions and food were free.”

mnolan@tribpub.com

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