Small Lake Mead flag football team plays big

By Jared Harmon

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 | midnight

With a roster of mostly under-sized fourth graders, the Lake Mead Christian Academy elementary flag football team took on larger fifth and sixth graders each week on its way to the championship game.

The Eagles took a 6-1 record into the final game on Oct. 24, and while they lost 27-19 to Mountain View, Lake Mead coach James Crosby said he couldn't be prouder of his team.

"This team was amazing," Crosby said. "We had a few talented fifth and sixth graders, but we were mostly fourth graders. The main thing was they had heart. From the first practice to the last game they showed it every day."

The Eagles play in the Valley Athletic Conference, a league of Las Vegas Valley private schools.

With an 18-man roster, Crosby said, everyone on the team contributed — only nine played at a time.

Lake Mead picked up touchdowns from fourth grader Alex Hall and two from sixth grader Robbie Cowan, who led the Eagles in scoring. Alex said he got the ball on his namesake play "Motion left Alex," and took it in for a key score.

"They were chasing me, so I kept running hard," Alex said. "It felt good to score for my team."

Defensively, Crosby said, the Eagles were led by cornerback Sean Fuller, a fourth grader who had a knack for sniffing out the flag.

"I think we did really good this year," Sean said. "We beat a lot of teams with way bigger kids. We used our speed and we practiced a lot and that helped us win."

Sixth grade nose tackle Tyler Whitehouse said the team came together and played well as a unit, which Crosby attributed to the leadership of captains Jacob Scott, Julian Gonzalez, Brandon Douglas and Robbie Cowan.

"From the first practice to the final play we really pulled together," Tyler said. "Coach always told us about how each of us is a part of the body and we all have a roll for the body to work right. Everyone did as much as they could to help and that's why we did so well."

With such a young team, Crosby is already looking to next year when the Eagles can enjoy the benefits of the experience they gained this season. While sixth grade defensive lineman Jos Slocum will have moved on to middle school, he said, from what he saw this year, the Eagles should see even more success.

"(The Eagles) are going to have a really good offensive and defensive line coming back next year," Jos said. "They did a good job of stopping the sack and helping the running backs move. I honestly think they're going to do great."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].