Football Team Goes ‘All the Way’ to Conference Finals

Call it the little team that could.

They got booted off the fields at Van Nuys and North Hollywood high schools. Endured rush-hour traffic to get to nightly practices in Burbank. Played only away games where a handful of loyal fans cheered them on.

Embattled, yet emboldened, the Mighty Might Division of the East Valley Trojans Football Club has made it to the San Fernando Valley Conference championship.

The Trojans will take on the San Fernando Braves in a 1 p.m. matchup Sunday at Sylmar High School.

Not only is the game likely to be a nail-biter because both teams have 8-1 records, but it is also an affirmation of the Trojans’ motto: All the way.

“These kids are really dedicated; they really have practiced and played their hearts out,” coach Tom McDonald said.

The season was very stressful for players, parents and coaches, said McDonald, who traveled from Van Nuys to Burbank for practice skirmishes and to various stadiums across the Valley for games.

The Trojans were barred from practicing and playing at Van Nuys and North Hollywood because the schools’ principals said players caused too much wear and tear on the fields.

The five teams within the club looked for alternative sites, McDonald said. One team within the club folded. Two others were eventually allowed to practice on the skirt of the North Hollywood field, but played all away games.

McDonald and his team of 11- and 12-year-old boys went to a Burbank park where they practiced alongside division opponent Burbank Vikings.

Without a home field, McDonald said, the Trojans lost revenue generated by concession stands and an annual homecoming celebration.

“We are really hurting for money,” he said. “I’m hoping that the program is going to survive.”

Keeping it alive, he said, means more than just letting kids run up and down a field with a football.

“The value of this program is that [players] learn things they can take with them through their whole lives.

“This program kept me in line and taught me not to accept failure and to continue on even when the odds are against me. Our goal as a team is to go all the way.”