RAYTOWN, Mo. — A Lee's Summit youth football team needs financial support to pay for travel and other expenses for a trip to Florida to play for a national championship.
The team of eight-year-old's just played their way to the American Youth Football National Championship.
Lees Summit North Chiefs Coach Todd Jones says the boys have played together for a few years and built a winning team.
The team reached a new level of achievement Nov. 23 and has the potential to become national champions.
“The boys, the boys are what keeps us going,” Jones said. “It keeps us driven every day to work with them every day. Their work ethic is amazing. It makes you want to coach them up and teach them this game.”
He says their game-winning moment from last weekend''s game in Detroit felt incredible.
“My heart was just beating, racing, racing,racing," Jones said. "This is something that they will remember the rest of their lives."
This victory was the team's biggest so far, but they want to end their season as national champions.
“The boys were so excited," Tunisha Allen, a parent with a son on the team.
Another mom recalled the chaos after the victory
"The boys were tumbling all over each other," Chakena Robinson said. "The parents swarmed the field."
Allen said the victory was an emotional one.
“Everybody wanted to cry and then it sunk in," Allen said. We're really going to Florida.” Allen said. “Football is everything to them.”
The team needs to raise about $35,000 in two weeks.
Chakena and Tunisha say the money raised would pay for ravel and a place to stay for 17 players, coaches, and parent supervisors.
“We’re doing everything we can to try to get the boys there," Jones said. "It’s pretty costly to get them there, but they deserve it, they earned it."
A two-week turnaround has them looking for sponsors to cash in on the team's hard work.
“I want to make it to the championship,” said quarterback Armon Jones. “We’ve been working on hitting drills, route tree, and angle tackles.”
Allen said a lot of the boys have never flown before.
"For my son, this will be the first time he’s flown," she said. He’s so excited, he’s like, 'Can I sit by the window,?"' Allen said.
For information on how to help the team, click here.
