The Manoa Paniolo, Junior Peewee Pop Warner team, will be facing the Michigan City Wolves in the semifinals of the Division II at the 56th annual Pop Warner Super Bowl at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando,
The Manoa Paniolo, Junior Peewee Pop Warner team, will be facing the Michigan City Wolves in the semifinals of the Division II at the 56th annual Pop Warner Super Bowl at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
The Paniolo, earning the right to advance after defeating the Hanapepe Colts in the recent Regional Championships at Vidinha Stadium, relied on its quarterback Dillon Gabriel who three for at least three passes during its 38-28 win over the Stanley Blue Devils Saturday in Florida.
Gabriel, who was formidable against the Colts, uncorked aerials of 20 yard to JohnPaul Tillem, 25 yards to Jordan Hinds and another 25 yarder to McCabe Ho for touchdowns.
Vincent Terrell, who was not able to score against the Colts despite slicing off large yardage gains, scored in Florida on a 12-yard run. The touchdown was graced on a pass from Gabriel to Payton Grant, the special teams player who against the Colts, was able to convert first downs on several fourth-and-long situations.
Tavin Johnson marked a 40-yard TD run, Nicholas Gwinn peeled off 30 yards for a score and the Devils’ quarterback Logan Russell hit Johnson for a 50-yard scoring pass in the loss.
The Waianae Tigers, another JPW team from Hawai‘i, defeated the New Haven Steelers, 28-0 on Sunday to advance to the semifinals Wednesday against the Richmond Perrine Giants of Florida.
Sixty-four teams from across the nation battled through regional competition to advance to the weeklong Pop Warner Super Bowl, which Alexandra Paparsenos of the Pop Warner Little Scholar program described as the pinnacle of their young football careers.
National champions will be crowned in four divisions based on age and weight — Junior Pee Wee (ages 8-11), Pee Wee (ages 9-12), Junior Midget (ages 10-13) and Midget (ages 11-15).
At the weeklong gathering, Kaua‘i Pop Warner Football League has two cheer squads, the Lihu‘e Patriots Junior Midget and the Hanapepe Colts JPW, competing at the National Pop Warner Cheer and Dance competition.
Additionally, at least one Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation football official, Shawn McGurn, is in Florida to help officiate the Pop Warner Super Bowl games.
Pop Warner is the nation’s largest and oldest youth football, cheer and dance organization, and the only one which requires academic proficiency in order to participate.
The National Football League Players Association estimates that roughly 70 percent of current NFL players got their starts playing Pop Warner football.
