Chargers QB Carter Deming rumbles around the left side during the Chargers 30-14 win over Packers. (Photo Sam Hurst/IDS)

On the first play from scrimmage of Tuesday night’s 6th grade midget football game between the Packers and Chargers, before parents and fans had a chance to unfold their chairs, before roving reporters had a chance to take the lens caps off their cameras, Packers tailback Connor King busted a 60 yard touchdown run around the left side of the Chargers defense. The score was 8-0, and the stunned Chargers hadn’t even buckled their chin straps. “We didn’t beat these guys all last year.” Packers coach Jason Olson said through a huge grin as he paced the sideline. “That got us going.”

On the Chargers sideline, fullback Jake “pajama man” Sigler, paid his respects to King. “He runs the ball real good. We have to plan for him, and know where he is, and that time we weren’t ready. But I was just thinking to myself, ‘We’ll come back.’”


(Photos Sam Hurst/IDS)

When the Packers held the Chargers on two 1st quarter possessions, it looked for a brief moment like the Chargers were in for a battle. “This is okay,” one Chargers coach told his team. “A little adversity. We’ve never been down like this. Just stay patient.”

The Packers proceeded to stuff the Chargers next drive and when King moved from tailback to quarterback in the 2nd quarter, he hit Jackson Ellis on a 25 yard pass, and then rumbled around end for a 10 yard touchdown. The score was 14-0, and King was a one-man wrecking crew.

With time running out in the half, Carter Deming took the kickoff 40 yards to set up a desperation, last gasp touchdown pass to Josh Holme with no time left on the clock. Both teams huddled up with the halftime score of 14-8, but the Chargers had taken the Packers punch and had confidence that they could make adjustments and control the 2nd half.

On the opening drive of the 2nd half, Deming reversed field on a busted play and raced 40 yards to the Packers 1 yard line, where Chargers fullback, Jake Sigler, punched the ball across the goal line.  The Chargers had found their mojo, and never looked back. On the next Chargers possession, Tod Stephens and Holden Jackson did the heavy lifting, with Jackson capping the drive with a 5 yard touchdown run.

As the Chargers began to pull away, Jake Sigler drove the nail in the Packers coffin with the run of the game, a 15 yard off tackle blast during which he carried three Packers defenders on his back to the end zone. “I thought they were going to force me out of bounds. I knew I had guys on my back, but I just kept thinking, ‘stay in bounds.’”

Connor King and the Packers played their hearts out, but in the end, the Chargers just had too much discipline, and too many playmakers.

Final score—Chargers 30-Packers 14.

Nightcap-Patriots Dominate Ravens 39-14

 In a 7th grade division game Tuesday night, the Ravens were no match for the power, discipline, and speed of Patriot running backs Tanner Berg, Riley McSherry, Hayden McGriff, and Madden Pikula.

Ravens quarterback Marcus Davidson and running back Orlando Moreno kept the Ravens in the game as long as they could, and the Ravens caught the Patriots off guard with a touchdown pass from Davidson to Ethan Kulm, but the Patriots had too much firepower.

Pikula was a dominating force, managing the game under center, hitting McGriff on a breakaway touchdown pass, and using shifty speed to turn busted plays into long gains. “We run a short route offense. Our pass plays are timing routes.” Pikula told IDS after the game. “Hayden just ran a quick out, and I looked for him. I look for my #1 receiver. If he’s not open, I tuck the ball and run.”

When it’s time to change up Pikula’s speed and improvisation, the Patriots turned to fullback Zack Solano to pound the middle for long gains.

In the end, the Patriots brought too many threats from too many angles for the Ravens to handle.

Final score 39-14.