By Coach Bossio
Since the Western Lakes Junior Football League began keeping records of Super Bowls, the Livonia Eagles have only had a handful of teams make it to the big dance. The Eagles have only won the Super Bowl twice. In 2003 and 2015, the Junior Varsity Eagles each won their respective Super Bowl Championships. On Sunday, the 2017 Livonia Eagles Freshman football team took the field in Farmington to battle their bitter cross-town rival Livonia Falcons for the opportunity to go to the 2017 Super Bowl. As they demonstrated all season, the Freshman Eagles would not be denied their chance at greatness as they soundly defeated the Falcons 25-12 before a crowd of wildly screaming Eagles fans chanting, “Soo-per Bowl!” “Soo-per Bowl!”. 

The Eagles shut out the Falcons earlier this season 19-0 so the Falcons came into the game with revenge on their minds. The game did not take long to get exciting. During freshman games each team must play their developmental squads for a minimum of five plays depending on the number of players on their roster. Both the Falcons and Eagles had so few players that they had to play their developmental squads seven plays to start each half. Well the excitement exploded on the Eagle’s first drive as their developmental squad scored to give them an early 6-0 lead. 

The Eagles kept the gas pedal to the floor as they scored two more times in the half to take a commanding 18-0 half time lead. In reality, the game was not even that close. The Eagles dominated the Falcons on both side of the ball as the Falcons didn’t even sniff the goal line in the first half. The only other reason the game was not completely out of hand before half time was due to the amount of penalties the Eagles received. By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Eagles had 15 penalties called against them while the Falcons were flagged only one time. 

The second half began with the Falcons developmental squad receiving the kick-off. The domination continued from there as the Eagles promptly went out and forced a Falcon turnover four plays into the third quarter. Just two plays after that fumble recovery, the Eagle’s developmental squad scored again on a 31-yard touchdown sweep to the left to take a commanding 25-0 lead. The Falcons did manage to score a couple touchdowns of their own in the second half to make the score a bit more respectable but, overall, the Eagles dominated play from start to finish. The win was capped off when head coach Tim Napier was doused with the traditional ice bath as time ran out. 

In case you’re scoring at home, Sunday’s win over the Falcons means the Livonia Eagles are your South Division CHAMPIONS and are headed to the SUPER BOWL for the first time in team history! This Divisional championship goes along with the Livonia City Championship and the number one seed in the south division. The Eagles will play the undefeated Northville Stallions for the league championship on Sunday November 5, 2017 at Farmington High School. High noon is the start of the show down for freshman supremacy and the WLJFL requires a $5 entry fee to all those not playing, cheering or coaching.