NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) — A Newport News youth football team has earned their right to play for their league championship in Florida, but there is still one major hurdle before taking the field.
The Denbigh Patriots, a non-profit organization, is still trying to raise enough money to make the trip by this Friday. Head coach Jeremy Trask said this group of boys in uniform aren’t just teammates, they’re family.
“They’ve been through a lot together, I’ve seen them cry together, I’ve seen them cheer together, it’s a brotherhood,” said Trask.
Trask couldn’t be more proud of his 20-man squad. They’ve won enough games to represent Virginia in the United Youth Football League Championships in Tampa this weekend, where they will play teams from across the country.
“When I started we were good, but after these couple weeks and months they’ve been doing just great, they’ve been getting better, better, better,” said player William Oviedo.
“I’ve been working since the spring, April, to get all the way to my accomplished goal to go to Florida, and I’ve been working 110 percent every day in practice,” said player Eduardo Rios.
However, Trask said even though the players have been fully committed, funding a trip to the championships isn’t exactly something their organization has been preparing for.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t really know if you are going until that time comes, and it only leaves you with a few weeks to gather it,” said Trask.
So the team, coaches and parents now find themselves scrambling to generate an extra $2,500 in just a few days.
“We come out of pocket for a whole lot, we enjoy what we do, but unfortunately we cannot afford to do it all. So, we do need the help from the community,” said Team Mom April Napoleon. “It’s very expensive, we are talking about feeding them three meals a day, the traveling expense to get there.”
The players said all they want is a chance to score touchdowns for the city of Newport News, and maybe even bring home some championship rings.
“We are not very known, so if we go down there we’ll get more known, and people will start looking at us, being more attracted to us,” said player Jashon McIntyre.
For more information on how to help the Denbigh Patriots, go to the team's Facebook Page.
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