An Airdrie football team finished its regular season undefeated.
The Airdrie Storm Pee Wee U12 Tackle Football went their entire regular season undefeated. On November 4, 2023, they became the Calgary and Area Division 1 Champions by defeating the Okotoks Eagles 62-8.
With one championship under their belts, they went to Red Deer to battle for the Wild Rose Championship against the Red Deer Scotia Bucks on November 11. Playing until dusk under the stadium lights made for an exhilarating watch, but it wasn’t much of a battle for the Storm as they walked all over their Red Deer rivals to finish with an impressive 88-0 win. A testament to their developed skills by head coach Tyrell Rohl and a fantastic team of coaches.
But even then, it was not enough. These young athletes needed some competition.
Storm coaches arranged to have the team enter a tournament to further test their unbeaten record. A select team was composed of a majority of the U12s from Airdrie Storm Pee Wee and the balance from the Airdrie Raiders Bantam Division.
The newly formed team took on the name Airdrie Eclipse and entered the U12 Division of the third annual Battle of the Prairies, hosted by Sask Selects Football in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Hundreds of the top young football players from Saskatchewan, Alberta, California, and Massachusetts gathered in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for a four-day tackle football tournament. The Sask Selects hosted the third annual “Battle on the Prairies” indoors at the Yara Centre in Moose Jaw from January 11 to 14, featuring nearly 1,000 athletes from 20 different teams in six age groups, from U11 to U18.
This year's tournament featured teams from the United States for the first time. The 11- on-11 tackle tournament featured four-down American rules football, with no punts or kickoffs. Games lasted 90 minutes and each player played anywhere from 16 to 24 plays each game as they are only allowed to play one position.
Like previous years, the event was live streamed, with the captured game footage being broadcasted online. Last year, it was estimated that around 50,000 individual viewers watched the live streamed games.
The Airdrie Eclipse U12 found a little bit more of a test competition-wise, but their persistence and determination came out as they won the tournaments U12 Division, maintaining their undefeated status once again.
