Battle for Lake Stevens

Four of its teams compete for the Midget football championship

By Jennifer Langston

Herald Writer

LAKE STEVENS — There’s been some trash-talking in the halls of Glenwood, Highland and Mount Pilchuck elementary schools this week.

On Saturday — with four teams from Lake Stevens competing in two Greater Snohomish County Youth Football League championships — they took their business out on the field.

Fortunately, when you’re 10 years old, hard feelings don’t last long.

Teammates can wrestle over a packet of post-game Skittles one second, then shake hands, congratulating each other on a good game, the next.

"It’s cool to play your friends," said Kris Bliven, a Lake Stevens Midget Rams tight end who helped lead his team to an 18-9 victory over the Lake Stevens Fighting Irish. "Everybody plays hard to get to the end of the regular season, and then plays their hearts out in the championship."

Colt Tupen, a Midget Rams halfback who scored two touchdowns Saturday, said the win was even sweeter because last year they had a bad season while the Fighting Irish took the trophy.

"It gets pretty competitive, because we have them in our class," he said. "It’s really about bragging rights."

This was the first year in the football league’s history that all four teams in the championship were from the same town. The league includes teams from Granite Falls, Marysville, Monroe, Arlington, Snohomish and Sultan.

In Saturday’s second championship game — the division for 11- and 12-year olds — the outcome flip-flopped. The Fighting Irish routed the Rams 26-0.

They start growing football players early in Lake Stevens. Tupen and Midget Rams quarterback Ryan Mielke began playing on the same flag football team when they were just 5.

They graduated to tackling and wearing full gear in the Midget division at age of 9.

Mielke, a slim 70-pounder who sometimes gets sacked by players nearly twice his weight, said he got over that fear with his first hit.

"I just get back up," he said. "But if I get crushed by somebody big, it’ll hurt."

Adults stress that the league — which guarantees kids play at least one quarter every game — teaches valuable character-building skills such as teamwork and sportsmanship.

The football players say they mostly like having fun and creaming each other on the field. But they also learn dozens of complicated plays, including some that they’ll be able to use at the high school level.

Bo Dickinson, a wide receiver for the Midget Fighting Irish, was headed to watch his two older brothers on the Lake Stevens High School team compete in the state playoffs Saturday night.

With such a talented crop of young athletes coming up, that team’s likely to be good for a while, said Midget Rams coach Jim Gracia.

"It’s no wonder Lake Stevens High School is in the playoffs," he said. "Lake Stevens football is going to be dominant for years to come."

You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452

or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.

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