Steelers youth football program earns three state titles

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Steelers have built a tradition of sending teams to the state championship game. Last week, Valley-based Pop Warner Youth Football association made program history.

Mat-Su moved teams into the title game in three of the four divisions in the Pop Warner State Championships, and three Steelers squads earned championships.

“It was a great weekend to be a Steeler,” program commissioner Clint Spencer said.

Mat-Su beat the East Anchorage Eagles 25-6 in the mighty might class. The Steelers drilled the East Anchorage Eagles 41-8 in the peewee class. Mat-Su also blanked the Soldotna Saints 12-0 in the cadet class.

Last season, Mat-Su had a team in all four divisions of the state championships, but came away with only one crown. This year, Spencer had high expectations for the program’s teams.

“I thought we had a good chance,” Spencer said of finishing 3-0 on Oct. 14, the day of the championship games.

Spencer said, overall, the program is strong, with 160 kids stretched across six teams in five divisions. When the program opened its online registration in February, for the 2018 fall season, three of the teams were full on the first day. The remained were full within a week.

“If you want to play youth football out there, you want to be a Steeler,” Spencer said.

Four years ago, participating was growing so much, the program was split and the Mat-Su Seahawks were created. Now, the Steelers and Seahawks are among eight Pop Warner programs in the league. There are also programs in Anchorage, Eagle River and Soldotna.

Spencer is the head coach of one of the three Steelers teams to win a state title. His cadet team beat the Soldotna Saints 12-0. The Saints are the feeder for Soldotna’s high school team, which recently won its seventh straight Division II title.

“That’s what was so exciting,” Spencer said. “They do it so well from the little guys all the way up. They’ve got a successful program.”

In the peewee class, Mat-Su’s 41-8 win over East marked the fourth straight state title for head coach Robbie Nash.

In the last four years, Nash’s teams are 36-3 and have outscored opponents 1,078 to 125.

“Great group of kids,” Nash said via text.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.