Huntington falls in national final

Mike Sciacca

A magical season for the Huntington Beach Jr. Pee Wee Green Chargers

came to an end Friday at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex

in Orlando, Fla.

In the Jr. Pee Wee Division championship game, Huntington Beach

lost to the North Philadelphia Aztecs, 32-13.

Scoring touchdowns for the Green Chargers, who had entered the

game on an eight-game win streak, were Josh Peth and Brandon Trulli.

“We came up a bit short in the title game but I am just so proud

of these kids,” Huntington coach Marc Dubois said. “They far exceeded

our goals.

“There were no superstars on this team, just a group of boys who

made the best teammates. I’ve been doing this thing for 24 years and

this is by far the best group of kids that I’ve had in terms of

playing together as a team.”

Huntington’s first touchdown came on a four-yard run by Peth, who

had set up his score by taking in a fourth-down pass from Chris

Dubois at the Aztecs six-yard line.

Peth also ran in the point after conversion with 40 seconds left

in the first half, which ended with North Philadelphia holding an

18-7 lead.

Trulli scored on a trap play from 10 yards out in the second half

to complete Huntington’s scoring.

“This is not to take anything away from the North Philadelphia,

but we just couldn’t overcome the age disparity between the two

teams, not to mention the athleticism of the Aztecs,” Marc Dubois

said. “Hopefully, one day, my players will understand just how

special this season has been, and how they epitomized the concept of

teamwork. It’s been an honor to coach them.”

The Chargers defeated the Rhode Island Chiefs and the Aztecs

defeated the Tampa Bandits to earn the right to play in the national

championship game.

Rhode Island and Tampa played in the runner-up bracket, and Rhode

Island won that game, 6-0.

The outcome of that game left Huntington Beach as the undisputed,

second-ranked Jr. Pee Wee team in the nation.

Dubois said that 2,600 Pop Warner teams competed this fall to earn

a trip to Orlando.

2004 Green Chargers

30...Montebello Sharks...0

27...Yorba Linda Saints...0

18...Los Alamitos Griffins...6

20...Cypress Colts...8

0...Costa Mesa Mustangs...8

25...Norwalk Titans...0

25...Brea Bengals...0

Orange County playoffs

32...Santa Margarita Mustangs...0

25...Santa Margarita Titans...0

Orange County championship

13...Costa Mesa Mustangs...0

Western Conference semifinal

26...Vista Bolts...0

Western Conference championship

20...Yuma, Az. Scorpions...19

National semifinal

26...Rhode Island Chiefs...0

National championship

13...North Philadelphia Aztecs...32

(Final record: 12-2)