The Seahawks are in the Super Bowl!

No, not those Seahawks. And not that Super Bowl.

It’s our own local Seahawks team – the 8U Gate City Seahawks with the Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Dept. – who will travel to Benson on Saturday, Nov. 15 to face the Strong Center Cardinals of Fuquay-Varina in the East Wake Football League Super Bowl.

And for Michael Faulkner, the 8U head coach, Saturday’s game marks the culmination of months of practice and a great 9-1 season.

The championship game begins at 1 p.m. at West Johnston High School in Benson, but there’s a flag game at 10 a.m., followed by an awards ceremony, then a “fifth quarter” game at 12:30 p.m.

Faulkner – “Coach Mike” to his players – said this team is not only talented, but also hard-working.

“Saturday is only a display of what you do all week,” Faulkner said he reminds the players. They spend about an hour playing a game during the regular season,  but put in a couple of hours at practice.

He said he reminds them that if they train hard, they get great results.

And, “if you don’t like something, put in the work to change it.”

Coach Mike said he played rec ball when he was a kid, but all the games were local. This 8U team travels other counties for conference play – Johnston, Wake, Durham and Granville, just to name a few.

“Not only are they displaying that we’re disciplined and hard-working,” Faulkner said. The Seahawks are proving that they’re a team that can compete against other U8 teams in what he called a “very competitive” league.

The team’s only loss this season was to a Durham team, and Saturday’s opponent is 10-0.

He said he tells the team, “We celebrate wins and we learn from losses.”

For Coach Mike, it’s important that he teach the kids about handling adversity and maintaining their composure – on and off the football field.

“I’m working hands-on with the kids every day,” he said. “I see a lot of will, determination –  they’re hard working. I like to teach kids and set goals and achievements in life so you have something to work towards.”

Some of these 8-year-old Seahawks will be tomorrow’s players at the middle school, or even go on to play JV or varsity at the high school level.

“Henderson is a special place with a special group of kids, very talented,” Faulkner said. When they put their minds to what they want to do, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.

Good luck to the Gate City Seahawks on Saturday!

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