A group of young Point Loma Pop Warner Pee Wee-level football players are in Florida playing their hearts out in pursuit of a second consecutive Super Bowl national championship.
Many of the players were members of last year’s Pee Wee Div. 2 group who brought home a national championship.
And yes, they are once again coached by Pete Balistreri. Twenty-four boys who have trained all season and been schooled in the importance of hard work, never giving up and learning to run plays with great attention to detail.
This year’s team began its move through an eight-team division last Saturday with an impressive 23-0 shutout of the Ogden (New York) Bears in the quarterfinals.
Their semifinal game, scheduled for Dec. 5, pits the Pointers against a team from Westlake (Texas) known as the Chaps who defeated the Merrillville (Indiana) Cardinals in a close 36-30 game to advance.
Besides the Pointers and Chaps, the other teams that have advanced include the Palm Beach Gardens (Florida) Gators and the Union Road (North Carolina) Jaguars. 
If the Pointers win, they advance to the championship game, set for Dec. 8. The game begins at 11 a.m. EST and is scheduled to be televised on ESPN3.
Tournament dates are Dec. 2-8, with all games played at the massive ESPN Wide World of Sports Center in Orlando, Fla.
Team members are still seeking donations to cover costs of the trip, with an estimated cost of $1,500 per player. A GoFundMe.com account has been set up for the team under the title “Support Pointers Pee Wee to FL.”
The team has also been awarded the 2016 San Diego Pop Warner Sportsmanship Award. Many individuals on the team have qualified for the title of “All-American Scholar,” a Pop Warner program that awards high achievement in the classroom.
The team mom is Caroline Hovey.