Sports
Two MSO Packers Football Teams Head to State Championships
The Maplewood South Orange Packers Cougars and Wildcats teams vie for the State Championship at Rutgers on November 27.
Two Maplewood South Orange Youth football teams will be playing for the State Championship this Sunday, November 27 at Rutgers High Point Solutions Stadium.
The Unlimited team (Cougars) and the Junior Midget Team (Wildcats) will be playing for the Garden State Championship title at Rutgers Stadium this Sunday at 11:30 p.m. for the Cougar primarily 8th grade team and 2:30 p.m. for the primarily 7th grade Wildcats team. The MSO Packers Cougars will be facing Flemington Falcons and the Wildcats will be playing the Freehold Giants.
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The Garden State Games are the championship games for all competitive levels of Pop Warner teams from all over the state of New Jersey. The winner will get to hold the Title of New Jersey State Champions. This is only the second time any Packer team has ever played in the championship game and first time two teams will be playing for a State Championship.
Of note, MSO Packers wide out Hunter Reynolds (Wildcats) and center Garrett Grafton (Cougars) have been named to the FBU All-star team representing New Jersey. They will play the best from New York on December 3 at Morris Catholic High School in Denville. FBU National Championship is a football version of the Little League World Series featuring 40 teams competing in a NCAA-style bracket tournament to select a true national champion in youth football’s 8th grade division. Ultimately, the winning east coast team will play the winning west coast team in January at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio following the Army All-American Bowl.
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Coach Darvin Bethea, head of football operations for the MSO Packers has built a strong program that has a focus on good sportsmanship, self-discipline, and team cooperation. Coach Darvin, Head Coach Aaron Rolley of the Wildcats, and Head Coach Steve Hudson, of the Cougars, has worked with these teams since the boys were 6 years old and playing flag football. All three coaches can’t describe in words how proud they are of the success of these Maplewood and South Orange Student Athletics’ on and off the field.
Information about Youth football in Maplewood and South Orange can be found at msopackers.org. Also, you can email the MSOPACKERS at msopackers@onebox.com or contact Kim Crawley at
862-205-9740.
