Aug 17, 2007

Little guys, big game

Palo Alto Junior Midgets football team prepares for a showdown with one of the nation's elite

By Travis Perkins / Daily News Staff Writer

The Palo Alto Knights Junior Midgets football team intends to end its season in Orlando as a Super Bowl champion come December at the Junior Division Pop Warner National Championship hosted by Disney World.

The Knights will see plenty of Florida this week, but not the actual Sunshine State.

Instead, the squad will scrimmage the Palmetto Raiders of Miami on Saturday at Stanford's practice field.

"This is one of the strongest teams in the nation," Knights coach Mike Piha said. "They are ranked and will do well. They lost only one game last year."

In 2002, the Raiders contacted the Knights in hopes of setting up a scrimmage.

"We were competing at a national championship," Palmetto coach Tom Fryer said. "And they thought the Knights were a strong team to scrimmage."

The proposal interested Piha and company.

"I have coached four teams that have gone to Florida," Piha said. "Three of them lost to Florida."

The Raiders committed to the scrimmage in July. Considering it's only August, the Knights intend to treat their competition like guests.

"Their players are staying with our players," Piha said. "It's a great opportunity for them to meet each other and go out and play football."

The two squads also plan to share the same practice field and accompany each other to watch the Oakland Raiders practice Friday. The kids from Miami received funding for the trip from former Raiders linebacker Ted Hendricks.

"I think we are just going to watch them," Piha said. "Maybe they will talk to us after that."

The Knights finished on a disappointing note in 2006. Expecting to make a run to Florida, the Knights' season ended with a 14-8 upset to the Morgan Hill Raiders in the opening round of the regional playoffs.

The Knights drove for 180 more yards than the opposition but four turnovers brought about the team's demise as Morgan Hill, which only defeated one other team last year, earned a second victory over the Knights in 2006.

"But all those (Knights) are in high school now," Piha said.

In fact, 20 players departed, while six returned this year. That list includes running back Cameron Moody, fullback/linebacker John Dickerson, offensive lineman John Tazes, defensive end Daniel Eaton, offensive lineman/linebacker Luke Petersen and offensive lineman/linebacker Morris Mouton.

Moody owns the talent to become the top rusher in the league, Piha said, while two returners and a handful of others were on the 2004 team that lost to Virginia in the Pee Wee Super Bowl.

"Petersen and Mouton were on that team," Piha said.

As for the incoming players who competed at the Super Bowl, the Knights feature Isaac and Isaiah Gayles, David Williams, Matt Maher, Andrew Rider and Tyler Valenti.

After watching the Knights scrimmage a team from Menlo Park, Piha believes the team showed promise.

"We did pretty well," he said. "But this will be the real test for us."

The contest Saturday is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. after Stanford finishes a scrimmage of its own.


E-mail Travis Perkins at tperkins@dailynewsgroup.com.