What happens in Vegas, contrary to what Nevada tourism officials might claim, shouldn’t always stay in Vegas.
Sometimes it’s best to bring it home.
The Parker Hawks are proof positive of that. They did something the rest of us will probably never have the satisfaction of saying: They came away from Las Vegas big winners.
The Hawks defeated the Palmdale (Calif.) Falcons 14-12 on Nov. 27 to win the title for 8-year-olds at the National Youth Football Championships in Las Vegas.
“To see them out there on the field jumping up and down and on each other and hugging in a big pile, that was a pretty rewarding feeling,” Hawks coach Scott Boyd said.
The victory highlighted an undefeated season for the Arapahoe Youth League NFC team and earned it recognition as the November winner of The Denver Post Youth Excellence in Sports award.
YES!
The Hawks, who defeated the Los Lunas (N.M.) Tigers 19-7 a day earlier to advance to the championship game, went ahead against the Falcons when Dylan Emery capped his team’s opening drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal. Marcus Staples ran in the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
The Falcons responded, scoring on a fullback dive from about 40 yards to go into halftime trailing 7-6 after failing on the conversion.
“Our defense gave up only one first down during the whole game,” Boyd said. “They broke two long runs.”
Before the Falcons got their second score, Boyd’s son, Justin Boyd, extended the Hawks’ lead on a TD run of about 60 yards in the third quarter.
“There was just some great blocking on the line,” Justin said, “and the linebackers weren’t paying attention.”
Staples’ 4-yard run for the conversion made it 14-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Falcons caught the Hawks on a linebacker blitz for their second score off a fullback dive — this one from about 45 yards out — to make it 14-12 with about five minutes remaining. The Falcons’ attempt for a two-point conversion failed.
The Hawks’ undefeated season was complete when Staples and a host of teammates threw the Falcons’ last-gasp play for a loss on fourth-and-long in the game’s final minute.
“It’s really cool. It felt really good to go undefeated,” cornerback Luke McCaffrey said.
“As far as he knows,” former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey said of the youngest of his four sons, “he’s on the best team in the world because they won this Vegas tournament. . . . He’s excited and we don’t tell him any differently.”
Al Daniel: 303-954-1892 or adaniel@denverpost.com
Honorable mention
M.J. DILLARD
The sixth-grader at Campus Middle School was 19th in the under-14 boys division of the Thanksgiving Day Classic 5K on Nov. 26 in Peoria, Ariz. Dillard finished in 28 minutes, 7 seconds.
FBU ALL-AMERICANS
Christian McCaffrey of St. Thomas More Catholic School, the second-oldest of the Ed McCaffrey clan that collectively went 53-1-1 this season according to their dad’s arithmetic, will look to follow up last year’s MVP performance in the Football University Youth All-American Bowl on Jan. 10 in San Antonio.
Christian will be joined by Isaiah Bergner of Sky Vista Middle School, Cole Navarro of Denver, Hayden Porter of Falcon Creek Middle School and Quinn VandeKoppel of Castle Rock Middle School on the West squad.
The event, which showcases the top 140 middle school players in the nation, features three games, with one for seventh-graders and two for eighth-graders. The games will be webcast on .
“There’s so many great players in the country that for me to be selected, it was a huge honor and really cool,” said McCaffrey, who last year led the West seventh-graders with 95 total yards, including a 65-yard touchdown run, in a 21-14 victory over the East.
FRONT RANGE PANTHERS
Nolan Foote, son of Avalanche captain Adam Foote, opened the scoring 2:23 into the first period, Jake Barela added two goals, including the winner 5:33 into the third, and goalie Colin LeBere made it stand up as the Panthers defeated Boulder 4-1 to win the Squirt A championship of the Sportsmanship Tournament in Vail on Nov. 22.
The team of 9- and 10-year-olds previously advanced to the 41st annual International Silver Stick tournament in Sarnia, Ontario, in January. The prestigious tournament has already welcomed a Foote on its ice — in 1984, when Adam competed in the bantam division. Asked what it meant to have his son follow in his footsteps, er, skate ruts, to the Silver Stick, Foote said with a laugh, “It means I’m getting old.”
Foote added: “They have a very solid team, I am very interested to see how they do in Sarnia. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them be very successful.”
The Panthers are holding a raffle to help with traveling costs. For a chance to win items such as four tickets to the Avalanche-Red Wings game March 1 or a signed Avalanche jersey, contact team manager Bruce Nurse at 303-919-2913 or nbruce11@qwest.net.
Know a top athlete?
Youth Excellence in Sports honors those 17 or younger who have excelled in an athletic endeavor unaffiliated with the Colorado High School Activities Association. To submit your choice for the top individual or team achievement that occurs during December, visit for an online form or fax a brief description of the achievement to 303-866-9004 (Attention: “Youth Excellence”).
