White Plains Tigers Celebrate, Set for Super Bowl

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – The White Plains Tigers 5th-6th Grade White team sat at a long table waiting for the team meal Saturday on the eve of Sunday’s 2nd Annual Scarsdale Youth Football League Super Bowl games, and although it has been a tough season, the Tigers heads were held high.

“We learned a lot this year,” tight end/lineman Josiah Gilbert said. “Preparation is the most important thing and we spend so much time on it and it’s what gets you through. I just want to keep working hard to get better and win games next season.”

The 5th-6th Grade Tigers, who went 1-7 this fall, will play a team from Irvington in Sunday’s 10-game Super Bowl and hope to end the season on a high note. They are coached by Daryl Wilson and his assistants Tom Attonito and Nike Peller.

"One of the big things about this league and why we’re here is that we want to build a foundation,” Wilson said. “You can’t build a house without a foundation, blocking, tackling, correct stances. We spent the first two weeks just with technique. We want to win as much as anyone, but you can’t let the kids go on without learning the basics and we want all of them to play.”

Attonito said the priority was to prepare the players for their futures.

“Football players need the basics before they can move on,” Attonito said. “We want to teach them how to do things right so they can go on and play at higher levels.”

The young Tigers seem to be getting the basics and more. “I think it’s more important to be a smart player because you can learn about the game and know what to do at all times,” fifth grader Zachary Washington said. “This is my first year and I really learned a lot.”

Noah Pierre said he depends on his physical ability to deal with the defensive aspects of the game.

“It helps to have physical ability because I have to tackle players,” Pierre said. “It takes strength and knowing how to get off blocks. I enjoy defense more than offense."

Running back Noah Pierre, who admits to being a bit small but “pretty fast”, depends on a little help from his friends up front.

“The line is very important,” Chisolm said. “Without my line all the defense guys get to you fast and you can’t make any moves. We want to all play better and get more wins. But we have good coaches who help us improve.”

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