The victory lap said it all.
Norwin PAL's team of Mighty Mites sprinted around the Belle Vernon Stadium field in a joyful postgame celebration that would have made the Super Bowl-champion Steelers jealous.
The group of 13 and 14-year-olds followed running back
and Norwin PAL flag bearer Peyton Deri through the south end zone and then past the swarm of Norwin fans who traveled with their painted-message car windows to the Mon Valley to see their Knights triumph.
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Dozens of signs filled the bleachers, as fans with dyed-blue hair and cowbells cheered the Mighty Mites to an 18-14 win over Union-Finley to win the Mon Valley Midget Football League championship.
"It feels amazing," said John "Hammer" LoChiatto, who scored two touchdowns in the victory. "We won the battles up front, never gave up. We faced adversity, and we beat it."
The championship was the first in the PAL football organization since the Gold Knights won the KBL Midget Division title in 2005. Norwin moved to the MVMFL three years ago and had three teams play for championships on Saturday.
The Tiny Mites flag team (9-2) fell to Rostraver, 12-6, and the Termites (9-2) lost 16-0, also to Rostraver.
But the fourth-seeded Mighty Mites brought a championship home to North Huntington with some big offensive plays and key defensive stops in the fourth quarter.
Third-seeded Union-Finley took an 8-0 lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion early in the first quarter, but the Knights responded.
Led by quarterback Anthony DelleFemine, Norwin marched downfield and scored with 2:40 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by LoChiatto. The Hammer then was stopped on the conversion attempt to make it 8-6.
After a back-and-forth stretch in the second quarter, Norwin came up with some trickery late in the half. Deri, who was lined up deep in punt formation, took a long snap and ran a fake punt to pick up a fourth-and-long near midfield with 1:26 left before the break.
The Knights managed to punch it in the end zone with 16 seconds left, when DelleFemine found LoChiatto for a 7-yard touchdown pass and a 12-8 PAL lead. Deri was stopped short on the conversion attempt.
Norwin came out and increased the lead early in the third quarter, when Deri broke a long run down the far sideline for a 53-yard touchdown scamper.
"Our line did better blocking than them, and we ran harder then their guys," Deri said.
The conversion pass attempt to LoChiatto was incomplete to make the score 18-8 Norwin.
Union-Finley's Sam Fareri made the score 18-14 late in the third quarter with a 26-yard touchdown run, but the Norwin defense, which had allowed just two touchdowns all season against the first team, held strong from there.
"That tells you how good the Union-Finley squad is to score on us twice," PAL coach Buzz Bryan said. "They're just very aggressive, fly to the ball, love the game and work hard."
The Knights got interceptions from Josh Gasparro and LoChiatto on the Bears' final two drives to seal the 18-14 victory.
"We got behind early, but we stayed within our game plan. When you get to this point, there's no surprises. Even at this level, there's a lot of scouting going on. They pretty much knew what we were going to throw at them," Bryan said.
"We just executed. We stuck with our game plan and executed. We didn't panic. We made plays."
The win was a special one for the Norwin PAL program and all the coaches who volunteer their time to lead the Mighty Mites -- Buzz Bryan, Steve Deri, George Pfeifer, John Whalen, Anthony DelleFemine, Chuck Lukondi, Jay Stepanik, Sean Bryan, Lance Carr and Christian Bryan.
"My coaching staff is great," Buzz Bryan said. "We work them hard. They practice hard. We put them on the field and hope they execute."
The Mighty Mites finished the season 10-1 and were the North Division champions.
Mighty Mites roster
Josh Gasparro
Mitch Pfeifer
Joah Frank
John LoChiatto
John Hersick
Chris Zona
Russell Earhart
Noah Rady
Tyler Condrasky
Luke Whalen
Anthony DelleFemine
Frank McClain
Cameron McCurdy
Peyton Deri
Jordan Pulkownik
Aaron Carr
Brady Sigut
Jason Cerniglia
Noah Stampo
Chase Flood
Naquan Pack
Charlie Gutshall
Paul Russell
Logan Craze
Gage Kunkle
Dante Rizzo
John Henry Thomas
Jerad Skoan
Jeremy Stepanik
Mathew Lamanti
Nolan Brough
J.T. Dietz
Josh Robinson
Tyler Klass
Austin Imro
Norwin PAL's team of Mighty Mites sprinted around the Belle Vernon Stadium field in a joyful postgame celebration that would have made the Super Bowl-champion Steelers jealous.
The group of 13 and 14-year-olds followed running back
and Norwin PAL flag bearer Peyton Deri through the south end zone and then past the swarm of Norwin fans who traveled with their painted-message car windows to the Mon Valley to see their Knights triumph.
AdChoices
Dozens of signs filled the bleachers, as fans with dyed-blue hair and cowbells cheered the Mighty Mites to an 18-14 win over Union-Finley to win the Mon Valley Midget Football League championship.
"It feels amazing," said John "Hammer" LoChiatto, who scored two touchdowns in the victory. "We won the battles up front, never gave up. We faced adversity, and we beat it."
The championship was the first in the PAL football organization since the Gold Knights won the KBL Midget Division title in 2005. Norwin moved to the MVMFL three years ago and had three teams play for championships on Saturday.
The Tiny Mites flag team (9-2) fell to Rostraver, 12-6, and the Termites (9-2) lost 16-0, also to Rostraver.
But the fourth-seeded Mighty Mites brought a championship home to North Huntington with some big offensive plays and key defensive stops in the fourth quarter.
Third-seeded Union-Finley took an 8-0 lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion early in the first quarter, but the Knights responded.
Led by quarterback Anthony DelleFemine, Norwin marched downfield and scored with 2:40 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by LoChiatto. The Hammer then was stopped on the conversion attempt to make it 8-6.
After a back-and-forth stretch in the second quarter, Norwin came up with some trickery late in the half. Deri, who was lined up deep in punt formation, took a long snap and ran a fake punt to pick up a fourth-and-long near midfield with 1:26 left before the break.
The Knights managed to punch it in the end zone with 16 seconds left, when DelleFemine found LoChiatto for a 7-yard touchdown pass and a 12-8 PAL lead. Deri was stopped short on the conversion attempt.
Norwin came out and increased the lead early in the third quarter, when Deri broke a long run down the far sideline for a 53-yard touchdown scamper.
"Our line did better blocking than them, and we ran harder then their guys," Deri said.
The conversion pass attempt to LoChiatto was incomplete to make the score 18-8 Norwin.
Union-Finley's Sam Fareri made the score 18-14 late in the third quarter with a 26-yard touchdown run, but the Norwin defense, which had allowed just two touchdowns all season against the first team, held strong from there.
"That tells you how good the Union-Finley squad is to score on us twice," PAL coach Buzz Bryan said. "They're just very aggressive, fly to the ball, love the game and work hard."
The Knights got interceptions from Josh Gasparro and LoChiatto on the Bears' final two drives to seal the 18-14 victory.
"We got behind early, but we stayed within our game plan. When you get to this point, there's no surprises. Even at this level, there's a lot of scouting going on. They pretty much knew what we were going to throw at them," Bryan said.
"We just executed. We stuck with our game plan and executed. We didn't panic. We made plays."
The win was a special one for the Norwin PAL program and all the coaches who volunteer their time to lead the Mighty Mites -- Buzz Bryan, Steve Deri, George Pfeifer, John Whalen, Anthony DelleFemine, Chuck Lukondi, Jay Stepanik, Sean Bryan, Lance Carr and Christian Bryan.
"My coaching staff is great," Buzz Bryan said. "We work them hard. They practice hard. We put them on the field and hope they execute."
The Mighty Mites finished the season 10-1 and were the North Division champions.
Mighty Mites roster
Josh Gasparro
Mitch Pfeifer
Joah Frank
John LoChiatto
John Hersick
Chris Zona
Russell Earhart
Noah Rady
Tyler Condrasky
Luke Whalen
Anthony DelleFemine
Frank McClain
Cameron McCurdy
Peyton Deri
Jordan Pulkownik
Aaron Carr
Brady Sigut
Jason Cerniglia
Noah Stampo
Chase Flood
Naquan Pack
Charlie Gutshall
Paul Russell
Logan Craze
Gage Kunkle
Dante Rizzo
John Henry Thomas
Jerad Skoan
Jeremy Stepanik
Mathew Lamanti
Nolan Brough
J.T. Dietz
Josh Robinson
Tyler Klass
Austin Imro
