TORONTO - Toronto Titans - champions.
That title has a nice ring to it for the staff, players and coaches of the peewee football league, as the Titans junior varsity team earned the Steel Valley League championship by beating the Weirton Steelers 8-0 on Nov. 8 at Wheeling Island Stadium.
The varsity team, which had a 6-2 regular season record, also beat the two teams during the playoffs that had previously defeated them during the regular season, ending the 2009 season with an overall 9-2 record, according to Mike Conlon, head coach.
"All three teams - our bantam, junior varsity and varsity teams - made the playoffs," said Conlon, adding the Steel Valley League consists of 13 teams. "The bantam and varsity teams lost in the first round."
Conlon said victory was sweet for the junior varsity players, who range in age from 9 to 10, along with the Titans organization, which has been in Toronto since its founding in 1966.
"The majority of the players are from Toronto," Conlon said. "The last time the Titans won a championship was in 2000.
"This group of kids worked hard this year," he continued, adding most players played in the bantam level. "They performed really well when they were at the bantam level."
"I've never seen a group of 9- and 10-year-olds work together like this team," said Pat Keenan, assistant coach. "There was no one really outstanding player. It was all of them working together."
The Toronto Titans have been self-financed for most of its history, according to Jolynn Wojtas, secretary.
"We finance ourselves," she said. "The team has a booster club. We also do a lot of fundraisers. Being a nonprofit organization, we have to work for everything we need. The city is tremendous in helping us out."
One of the biggest expenses is equipment, and the team has invested funds in the Revolution helmet, made by Riddell Co., for each player. The concussion-resistant helmets add to the $250 to $300 expense of equipping each player, according to Corky Heaton, equipment technician. "We want to put safety first," said Heaton.
Most players who begin on the bantam team stay for the duration, and "55 to 65 percent of the Toronto High School players come through the Titans program," Heaton continued. "That's our motto - 'Toronto Titans - Building future Red Knights.'"
Wotjas said the Titans are a tight and family-oriented organization.
"We have a great group of people that go above and beyond," she said. "We all try to work together as a family."
"It's tremendous what the parents do for the kids," said Conlon. "These people don't get as much credit as they should."
"Everyone has a common goal - it's all for the kids," said Keenan. For information, call (740) 317-4553 or (740) 537-5440.
(Miller can be contacted at mmiller@heraldstaronline.com.)
