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The Troy Parks and Recreation 12U Trojans are headed back to the WYFA Super Bowl this Saturday, Nov. 2, to face off against Dothan’s 12U team for the State Championship for the second consecutive season.

Robert Lee returned just five players from last year’s championship team and things started off rocky for the 2023 12U Trojans but they persevered through it all.

“We got off to a slow start – 0-2 in the beginning – but we went 4-1 in our last five games to earn a playoff birth,” Lee said. “We were able to defeat Enterprise on Saturday 13-12 to advance to the Super Bowl. We are very proud of them. Last year we were able to win the championship but we only had five players from that team returning.

“So, we’re very young, most of our players are 11 (years old), and I’m so proud of the way they matured and learned the game and got better as the season went on.”

Lee emphasized the importance of youth football in the community, which serves as a feeder system for middle school and high schools in the area.

“This is my sixth year coaching and my first year coaching was with a lot of the senior class at Charles Henderson right now. Jywon Boyd, Dertavious Lee, Zach Coleman and those players all played for me in my first year in the rec league,” Lee recalled. “You see the successes they’ve had at the high school level. A lot of the players on the middle school team – which just went undefeated – played under me at the 12U level. It is very important for the fundamentals and the development of players but also for their development of young men in life moving forward.”

As the 12U Trojans look to repeat as Super Bowl Champs, Lee wants to see his players make sure to have fun while aiming to achieve their goal.

“I want to see them give good effort and also have fun and enjoy their last game of the season and hopefully a victory will come with that,” Lee emphasized.

The 12U Trojans will play Dothan in the Super Bowl at the Northcutt Football Complex in Dothan on Saturday.