On Saturday at their Alameda practice facility, the Raiders, in partnership with NFL FLAG, hosted the second of eight USA Football Regional Tournaments.
The single-day event featured 49 teams and nearly 450 participants with the winning teams then advancing to the NFL FLAG National Championships on January 26-27 in North Phoenix, Ariz.
The competition was split into four divisions, 9-10 coed, 11-12 coed, 13-14 boys and 13-14 girls and featured several teams who traveled from out of state for their chance to punch their ticket to Arizona.
The Eugene Broncos, who traveled down from Oregon, were one of those teams. Their head coach Kris Ulhorn spoke during the event about the reason his squad made the journey south.
The Raiders, in partnership with NFL FLAG, hosted the second of eight USA Football Regional Tournaments.
"We just really wanted to be able to test our team," said Ulhorn. "We have some kids that are great athletes and we just wanted to see how they can do against great competition."
He also spoke about how much fun the kids on his team were having throwing around the football.
"Today is amazing," Ulhorn said. "The feeling win or lose, we already feel like winners, just being here as a part of this trip. We got so excited seeing these kids out here having fun and it's been tremendous."
The Tucson Turf, another team that traveled from out of state to compete in the event, was crowned champion of the 9-10 coed division, and one of their coaches, Erich Lehmbeck, spoke after the game about the excitement the victory brought for his group.
"We're so excited," Lehmbeck said. "This is great for the kids. We traveled a long way and they've worked hard. It's awesome."
His quarterback, Treyson, also spoke postgame about how happy he and his teammates were to advance to nationals.
"It's awesome," he said. "We kept our heads up high when we were down and played as a team. I can't believe we did so good in that game."
Each year NFL FLAG promotes physical fitness and teaches athletic values and life skills to nearly 250,000 boys and girls ages 5-17.
The winners of Saturday's regional competition are as follows:
9-10 coed Tucson Turf – Tucson, Ariz.
11-12 coed East Fresno Boys & Girls Club – Fresno, Calif.
13-14 boys Tucson Turf – Tucson, Ariz.
13-14 girls 702 Lady Raiders – Las Vegas, Nev.
