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Football team earns first-year success

The Lakewoood Junior Spartans Mighty Mites just joined the Suncoast Youth Football Conference, and won the championship.

ST. PETERSBURG - In its first year as a member of the Suncoast Youth Football Conference, the Lakewood Junior Spartans Mighty Mites team won the county championship Sunday.

The Mighty Mites, 11- and 12-year-old players, defeated the Gibbs Junior Gladiators 13-6 in the title game.

Gibbs is a member of the Pinellas Youth Football Conference, which is structured similarly to the SYFC. Players are organized by age and weight into several teams: Flyweights, Mighty Mites, Pee Wees and Midgets.

"I am very proud of not only our cheerleaders and football players, but also our board members and the organization as a whole," said Junior Spartans president Tonjua Williams. "The board worked very hard during the offseason to prepare this year and it paid off."

The Junior Spartans scored on Darius Johnson's 40-yard quarterback keeper in the second quarter and again on Jakovi Wheeler's third-quarter 2-yard dive.

Johnson broke several tackles on his touchdown run, said coach Derrick Williams.

"At one point, I thought he was down," Williams said.

Gibbs scored on a fumble recovery with about two minutes left in the game, Williams said.

The coach also credited Michah Poole with a good offensive effort. Poole piled up about 80 yards on running plays.

"He didn't score, but he had some really nice runs," Williams said.

The coach also praised linebackers Darrian Skinner and Tron Russ, cornerback Gabriel Moten and lineman Joshua Harvey for their defensive play.