Three area teams emerge from Mid-Florida Pop Warner Championships

The Mid-Florida Pop Warner Championships took place over this past weekend at Lyman High School, with six teams from the West Orange Times & Observer’s coverage area represented.

The Ocoee Bulldogs sent four teams to the championships, and the Dr. Phillips Panthers sent two. By the end of the two-day event, three of those teams had emerged as champions and advanced to the Southeast Regional Playoffs.

The Dr. Phillips Junior Midgets and Unlimited teams and the Ocoee Bulldogs Junior Pee Wee teams will all advance to play teams from other metro areas in the playoffs.

The Panthers’ Junior Midgets defeated Ocoee, 48-8, and the Dr. Phillips Unlimited squad took down the Bulldogs, 8-0. Both of the contests were rematches of regular season contests earlier in the year, which the teams from Dr. Phillips also won.

Ocoee’s Pee Wees fell to the Apopka Blue Darters, 28-18, but the Bulldogs hit pay dirt with their Junior Pee Wee club, which defeated Apopka, 8-7.

The three teams now will play in the Division I Southeast Regional Playoffs, which begin onNov. 15, excluding the Panthers Unlimited team, which will play its playoff game Nov. 22.

The Junior Pee Wees and Junior Midgets each will travel to First Coast High School near Jacksonville to take on representatives from the Jacksonville area. The winners of those two games will advance to the next round Nov. 22 to take on representatives from Tampa.
The Dr. Phillips Unlimited team will take on a team from Tampa Nov. 22.