FINAL: Newington Knights (CT) 32, Douglas Tigers (CA) 0

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Knights Battle Past Tigers

The Newington Knights became the first team from Connecticut to win a National Championship as they defeated the Douglas Tigers in the Pee Wee League Tomlin Championship.

The Newington Knights opened the game with a strong drive down field. The offensive line fought hard to give the running backs the chance to march into the Tigers end zone. With the help of a good kicker, the Knights put the first points on the board at 8-0.

After the defense forced the Tigers to give the ball back to the Knights, they continued to display the strength of the offense and marched down field for another score and converted on the 2 point PAT at the end of the first quarter with the score 16-0.

As both teams' defenses battled back and forth, the Knights were determined to strike again before half time. They stuck with the strength of their running game and punched in another score with a short run up the middle. The Knights' kicker was successful in his third attempt and the score at half time was 24-0.

The skies over Disney's Wide World of Sports filled with clouds as the once sunny skies turned to scattered showers. The change in weather however, did not affect the players drive and desire to win on the field. The Tigers received the ball after the half, but once again the Knights defense continued to shut down the Tigers offense.

On their first possession of the third quarter the Knights ignited another drive down the field as they took over on the Tigers 40 yard line. After solid runs by #30, the Knights were at the 4 yard line. On 2nd and short, #22 took the hand off and punched the ball up the middle for another score. The Knights continued their play on the ground as #30 took the ball and ran off the right guard for the one point conversion.

The Tigers fought hard into the fourth quarter but the combination of the Knights stifling defense, which went the entire season without being scored upon, and the 31 point lead proved insurmountable. The Knights celebration began early in the fourth quarter as fans, including the mayor of Newington , realized they would bring the Championship home after three attempts.

The Knights head coach, Brian Perillo, had something to show his team after the game. It was a copy of an article from the Pop Warner website about Dale City 's championship after its third trip to the Super Bowl. Despite two years of coming up empty handed at the Pop Warner championship, the article proved to be a great motivation for the Newington Knights and “the third time was a charm”. Just like the Knights, the article came along way from last year as Coach Perillo kept the article in his desk throughout the season, packed it in his suitcase for the trip down to Orlando , and had it in his pocket on the side line throughout today's game. By instilling in his team the thought that “when you believe in something together you can accomplish anything,” the Pop Warner Super Bowl can expect to see Newington back in the Championship in years to come.

Congratulations to both teams for a successful season and a strong performance in the Championship game.