Redwood PAL Golden Bears win World Youth Championship football title

It’s rare that 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds can brag they are world champions.

But the 23 members of the Redwood PAL Golden Bears Mitey Mites football team can do just that after defeating the Rosedale Tigers of Washington, D.C., Friday in the World Youth Championship at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The 26-12 win capped a perfect season for the Santa Rosa-based team, which rolled through the local regular season 11-0, then swept regional competition and three games in the championship tournament this week.

Dual-threat quarterback James “Juice” Curoso of Santa Rosa scored three rushing touchdowns and connected with receiver Sterling Edwards for a fourth to lead the Bears in the decisive victory.

The 9-year-old Curoso had several strong rushes in the Bears’ first drive, including a 4-yard touchdown run and the extra-point run-in.

“He was amazing,” said coach Thomas Carrell. “He’s a great leader of a great team. They go as he goes. We had three games in three days, and he took the lion’s share of the touches. He’s the toughest 9-year-old in the country.”

Edwards showed superior speed and dexterity on his touchdown reception, a 65-yard, one-handed, over-the-shoulder grab that would fit in on a college football highlight reel, Carrell said.

After beating his two defenders, the 9-year-old Edwards pulled in the pass, sprinted 40 yards down the sideline and managed to stay inbounds despite a push from a Tiger safety for the score.

“We only threw the ball one time today, and it was that one-handed catch,” Carrell said. “That was ESPN-worthy. It was the most incredible catch I’ve ever seen at this level.”

Curoso, also a talented wrestler who has competed nationally, said he wasn’t fazed by the big-time environment.

“I wasn’t that nervous, it wasn’t that different,” he said, adding that he helped his teammates calm their nerves before kickoff.

The World Football Championship is a two-year-old tournament sponsored by the Hall of Fame, meant to give young football players a national tournament akin to the Little League World Series for 12-year-old baseball players.

In 2012, the Petaluma National Little League team advanced to the World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, before finishing third in the world.

Redwood PAL took it one step further, winning the world title (there are Canadian and Mexican teams in the tournament.)

Though just 7-9 years old, the kids play with most of the typical tackle football rules, although quarters are 8 minutes, punts aren’t kicked but measured out 25 yards, after-score possessions start at your own 35 and extra points can be run in for one point or passed in for two.

Rosedale, which went 11-2 during its regular season in the nation’s capital, scored on its first drive, as speedy running back Kevin Brown broke off a ?42-yard run to put the Tigers up 6-0 three minutes into the game.

The score snapped a multigame scoreless streak for the Bears’ defense, which hadn’t allowed a point since the regular season.

It was a wakeup call for the Bears’ defense.

“It definitely got everyone’s attention, but we stayed composed and stuck to the game plan,” Carrell said. “Being down for the first time, giving up points for the first time (in the postseason), showed resiliency. When we got down, there was no finger-pointing, no heads down.”

The Tigers’ lead didn’t last long, though, as the Bears scored twice before halftime to take a 13-6 lead.

Curoso scored both, on 4- and 13-yard rushes.

Nine-year-old Kordell Strane picked off a Rosedale pass and returned it 30 yards - zig-zagging across the field to the ?13-yard line - to set up the Bears’ second score.

“That was a huge play. Big momentum swing,” Carrell said. “It set us up for a big score to extend the lead.”

The Curoso-Edwards touchdown made it 20-6 Bears, and Curoso added a 1-yard scoring run with 18 seconds left in the third to put the Bears up 26-6 and seemingly in control.

But on Rosedale’s first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Brown again eluded Bears defenders and scored on a 65-yard run to trim the deficit to 14 points as time expired in the third quarter.

The Tigers handicapped themselves in the next crucial possession, though, with three penalties that stalled their drive.

In all, Rosedale had 10 penalties for 60 yards to Redwood’s three for 25.

Curoso was named Most Valuable Player of the game and as the team accepted its championship belt, the Bears remembered their mantra: “We are SR.”

Carrell said the coaching staff and kids were overwhelmed with emotion after the victory and the undefeated season.

“They knew that everything we’d talked about as far as our goals came to fruition. It was surreal. I’ll never forget that feeling, soaking it up with the boys,” he said. “I see a lot of future talent on that field today.”

You can reach staff writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.