HONOLULU -- The Patriots, Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Pop Warner tackle-football team, played against the Waianae Tigers at the Aloha Stadium, Aug. 24, 2013 at 9 p.m. Pop Warner teams, made up of children from all over the island, played head to head during this multiple game event as their cheerleaders cheered them on.
Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. is a nonprofit youth football and cheer program for children ages 5 through 16. The program is in 42 states and several countries, making it the largest youth football and cheerleading program in the world. The Patriots is the first and only all-military children’s team on island.
More than 100 families and friends lined the stands cheering, snapping photos and videos of their children sprinting across the field and shouting cheers to their teams.
The game was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. but, due to the scheduling change, it didn’t begin until 9 p.m. The Patriots played the last game of the night.
The Patriots and Waianae Tigers, ages 7 to 9, matched in red and blue jerseys and pants, with one slight distinction — the Patriots wore silver helmets.
The boys didn’t wear their full gear until they had practiced and conditioned a minimum of 10 hours.
“They practiced 10 days straight with no breaks,” said Santiago Cruz, a football coach and a personal property clerk with the Distribution Management Office, Headquarters Battalion. “We have more to work on but I bet they did their best.”
This was the first time the children with Pop Warner played at Aloha Stadium on a Saturday night.
Patriots’ cheerleaders, ages 8 to 10, made sure to motivate their team during the game. They pranced around in their red, white and blue patriotic uniform, yelling out cheers and performing choreography.
“Before the game, they practiced a total of at least 22 hours,” said Allison Devris, a cheer coach and combat photographer with U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, G-3, Camp H.M. Smith. “The hard work paid off because they nailed it! And the best part is that they had fun performing.”
During the half-time show, the Patriots and Waianae Tiger cheer teams performed both a cheer and a dance routine set to music. Both cheer squads were in red, white, and blue, corresponding with their football team.
The Waianae Tigers ended up beating the Patriots 32-7. At the end of the game the Patriots gathered to congratulate the Waianae Tigers and show good sportsmanship. The Patriots cheer-squad exchanged high-fives with their friends and families at the end of their performance.