As the team’s nickname indicates, the Arlington Admirals were in command of local youth football action this fall.
In addition to the team of middle schoolers’ undefeated 9-0 record, the Admirals won the Varsity Central Division playoff championship of the Northern Virginia Youth Football League.
The Admirals are the first squad from the Arlington Youth Football Club to win such a tackle-football title since a 100-pound Admirals squad did the same in 2015.
“This is a really big deal and a huge thing. This league has been fighting tooth and nail to win this kind of championship,” Arlington Youth Football Club commissioner Emily Lyons told ARLnow. “It proves hard work has paid off.”
The top-seed Admirals were 2-0 in the playoffs, defeating the fourth-seed Vienna Generals 30-0 in the semifinals at Wakefield High School, then the second-seed Fort Hunt Federals, 24-8, in the championship game at John R. Lewis High in Springfield on Nov. 8.
“It was a phenomenal season,” 10-year Admirals head coach Kevin Shaw said.
The win was the Admirals’ third of the season over Fort Hunt. Two of the victories came during the Admirals’ 7-0 regular season. Arlington also defeated the Vienna Generals during the regular season.
The Admirals shut out their first three opponents and four of the first five. Eight points were the most any team scored against Arlington in a single game.
“Our defense was insane. It was the best defense I’ve ever had,” Shaw said. “We had speed and physicality on defense, the players were aggressive, they all wanted to get after the ball and they were super coachable.”
In all nine games, the Admirals scored 157 points and allowed 28 with five shutouts. The offense mixed a strong running game with big pass plays.
The Admirals players consisted of seventh- and eighth-graders, with the average weight of the players about 115 pounds. Some of the players have been on the same youth team for five seasons.
“Playing together for a long time is the secret sauce,” Lyons said.
Shaw added that strong blocking, tackling, attention to detail and limited penalties were extremely important in the Admirals’ success. The team had no penalties in its semifinal win and just one in the title game.
“This team was very disciplined — incremental greatness,” Shaw said. “We pounded the little things every day in practice. The players were coachable, they got it and clicked as a team.”
Added Lyons: “Kevin knows what he is doing, and he has so much experience.”
Shaw’s son, Colton Shaw, was the Admirals’ quarterback.
The other players were Sainhulught Bayasgalan, Sainoyut Bayasgalan, Oliver Daponte, Lincoln Epstein, Brody Ganderson, Lukas Grohs, Reid Holmes, Mason Iams, Knox Kelly, Owen Langdon, Colin McCorry, Kosta Monis, Erbold Mungunsuh, Phillip Bastow, Christopher Spiro, John Taylor, Duane Tigney Jr., Jai’Shon White and Ryan Wilson.
The Admirals’ assistant coaches are former Yorktown standout running back Duane Tigney, Jaimey Bembry, Richard Kelly, Evan Langdon, Bryan Spiro and Sky White.
“These boys started working the first Monday of August, practicing two hours a day, five days a week. They decided to cut their summer short by a month,” Richard Kelly said.
Many of the Admirals will begin playing high-school football for Arlington teams next fall. A number of former Admirals players have moved on over the years to enjoy success in high-school football in Arlington, like current tight end Brady Owens for the Yorktown Patriots and former Washington-Liberty Generals defensive lineman Elijah Hughes, now playing in college at Notre Dame.
NOTE: That 2015 Admirals team was led by head coach Phil Anderson. That team is trying to organize a 10-year reunion.
