JONESBORO, Ark. (BVM) – Even with the clouds hiding any trace of sunlight in Jonesboro, the Northeast Arkansas Warriors 10u team would let nothing stop them from smiling. Despite just starting operations in February, the Warriors were in a position to win their first ever championship.  

They were tasked with taking on Jonesboro’s Elite Youth Football, a program who was made up of some of the most talented athletes in the state. Though the Elite had a bit of a size advantage over the Warriors, the newer program felt that they had a good chance of winning. In fact, they referenced a popular movie franchise to express how fearless they had become throughout the season.

Standing in front of their fog machine, the Warriors donned masks from “The Purge” and swayed as the instructions from the movie played in the background. Led by defensive end Tylan “Ty” Young, the team ran through the smoke to the sounds of cheers from their friends and family.

Warriors’ head coach Jeffery Burns explained that the idea for the introduction came from a team mom.

“Ms. Callie put it together,” Burns said. “With the entrance, it showed that football is all about mental. If you can mentally beat a team, physically beating them is easy.”

The first quarter was a back and forth one for Northeast Arkansas. They forced a turnover and held the Elite scoreless, but that is the same thing that happened to them. Things for them did not get kicked off until the second quarter.

Their first touchdown came on a run by running back Braylon Brown, who had also been a key member on both sides of the ball. In addition to scoring another rushing touchdown, he also had an interception.

From them on, things began to open things up for their offense. One of the biggest reasons for that was quarterback, Jamarion Palmer.

Palmer used both his legs and arm to help his team drive downfield. He had two passing touchdowns and even added more yards running, including a big run before halftime.

Palmer has been a champion before and knew that he had to be impactful if he was going to help his team win the big game. He said that he told his team to always keep their heads up.

“I told the team not to think about the score,” Palmer said. “Just play, run full speed and never give up.”

The Warriors went into halftime with a 14-0 lead. Though his team had been playing well, Burns explained that his team needed to stop beating themselves with mistakes.

“We had some simple mistakes,” Burns said. “We’re going to work out those kinks from the first half.”

Though the penalties continued to be a problem throughout the game, it did not mean that they were not playing well.

The Warriors defense began to step up in the big way and even found their way into the endzone. In the third quarter, the team’s resident hype man, Ty Young, had a strip sack and made his way into the end zone. That brought the score to 30-0 and almost assuredly sealed the game.

Young said that play was just a sign of the mindset that the team had coming in.

“We were already champions,” Young said. “I felt like I was number one from the start.

Another defensive player that stood out was defensive lineman Tyler Smith. Despite him being a rotational player, he made it a point to make his presence felt.

Twice in the fourth quarter, Smith had two fumble recoveries. The first one helped to set up the Warriors’ final touchdown and push the score to 38-0.

As the final seconds winded down, the Warriors could not fight their excitement and began to celebrate that they had won the organization’s first championship.

“It feels good to be a champion,” Smith said. “It’s like a feeling inside of you that when you win, that you can win more championships. I’m glad I won a state championship.”

Assistant coach, Clifton Clowers was also celebrating with his team, clearly proud of how far they had come.

“The kids were fired up,” Clowers said. “They knew it was all or nothing today. They went out there and played their hearts out.”

Though the team reveled in their excitement, they already set their sights on what it would take to win another championship next year.

“It’s going to take teamwork,” Young said. “We have to put in effort and support each other.”