Colts fall short to Overpowering Apaches

All eyes were on Harvey Colts (IL) quarterback Jasmine Plummer, who with today's start made her the first female quarterback to lead her team into the Pop Warner Super Bowl. The young girl was poised an her team came ready to play, but they didn't have enough to defeat the Southwest Region champion Southeast Apaches (TX) in the Jr. Pee Wee division.

The Apaches came out strong, and were determined to establish their powerful running game early. It took the San Antonio squad just over a minute to score the game's first points, coming off of a shirt touchdown scamper. The Apaches converted successfully on the conversion run and were on top early 7-0.

The Harvey Colts, from the Chicagoland Conference, responded back by stepping up their intensity on defense. They brough constant pressure to the Apache's offensive lineman, and were able to force a safety late in the first quarter to draw within 7-2. The Colts had another good scoring chance mid way into the second period, but had a pass intercepted at the Apache's 8-yard line that was returned all the way to midfield. The score would remain 7-2 at the end of the first half.

Turnovers by each team halted drives throughout the third quarter, and neither team was able to find the endzone or get momentum going. Early in the fourth quarter, however, still a 5-point game, the Apache's running game came up big with a long run down the sidelines after an end-around that placed them at the Colts 2-yard line. Just one play later, the Apaches barreled ahead for a 2-yard dive, and the touchdown game them a comfortable lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. The conversion was no good, and the Apaches led by the score of 13-2.

The Colts had a couple of more chances to score late in the game, thanks to a nice kickoff return and a few brilliant passes from Plummer, but were unable to find enough offense to overcome the 11-point lead. The clock ran out, and the Southeast Apaches had themselves a 13-2 victory. They move on to play the Asbury Park Bishops (NJ), who defeated the Kailua Mustangs today 13-0. The Colts move on to face the Mustangs in Saturday's consolation game. Both games are scheduled for 9:00 a.m.