Superbowl Saturday
Anahuac's Mayes led the way for the Senior team on Saturday in Hardin as they came up victorious 21-12.
The Anahuac Senior team celebrates their come-from-behind 2024 Superbowl win in Hardin.
HARDIN – When you think Superbowl, you tend to envision the pomp and circumstance of the NFL and the high-paid talent that dawns the field each Sunday, but all of that has to begin somewhere.
Peewee Football. That's where every future gridiron hero starts. It's not just about the boys either. The young girls who cheer these games on to victory are there every day after school, too.
Almost every age group has a team, coaches and uniforms. Some excited parents spend hour after hour watching and waiting. They're waiting for their kid's time to be on the 50-yard line, under towering lights at night or roasting in the sun during the day.
That's what football is. It's you and it's me. It's the neighbors down the street. It's Friday nights and Saturday mornings. It is us.
Superbowl Saturday is the perfect example of what football is. This game is only played once a season and is the highest level a team of elementary-age children can strive for. Anahuac had four teams in the 2024-25 season games played on Nov. 9.
That is one team per age group participating. Those being Freshman, Sophomore, Juniors and Seniors. These sturdy youngsters are drafted by their parents from Anahuac Elementary School.
Two teams battled out this year in the Senior Superbowl: the Anahuac Panthers and the Hardin Hornets. Most of the kids are 10, so this was the final game at the youth level for many of them.
Hornet Stadium was where these two rival teams took their places at each end of the field and neither team stopped until the last second of the game.
With a final score of Anahuac 21-12 Hardin, you would miss the head-to-head, blow-for-blow match that took place. Every inch of the field was a hard-earned inch. Ultimately, what made the most difference was one thing. No. 24 Mayes for the Panthers. He was a juggernaut every place on offense and defense.
Late in the fourth quarter, Hardin had the lead and looked as if they would win the title of Superbowl champs. Once again, though, the game MVP Mayes plucked a long pass out of the air deep in Hornets territory before throwing off would-be tacklers from every direction, ultimately breaking away and trotting in the 6 points that overtook Hardin.
That is Football. And that is where stars are born.
The Freshman and Junior Anahuac squads also joined the Seniors in taking home championships over the weekend.