CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Oceanside youth football didn’t just win the Pop Warner Super Bowl — it dominated.
The 14U Oceanside Warriors — which outscored opponents 106-0 over three playoff games — defeated the Saint James Royals (NJ), 30-0, while the 13U Oceanside Smack City squad ran the table with two shutouts of its own, edging the Westchase Colts (FL) 6-0 in the final.
A third Oceanside team, the 11U Running Pirates, punched its ticket to this year’s Super Bowl game but fell 20-14 to the Greater LaPorte Slicers of Indiana.
The national championships are the first for Oceanside Pop Warner since 2002.
“Football is a big commitment out here,” Oceanside Pop Warner president Andrew Tapuloa told The Coast News. “It’s not everything, but the passion is real. “This is the City of Champs.”
The championship run capped a year-long climb for the 14U Warriors, coached by Tupu Shoop Malele, who returned to the Pop Warner Super Bowl after finishing as national runners-up at the 13U level last season.
For the 13U Smack City team, the championship was particularly sweet, coming two years after the group — then at the 11U level — won a regional qualifying title but was unable to travel to the national championship because of a funding shortfall.
In the 13U championship, Oceanside Smack City quarterback Jahkoa Galeai threw the game’s lone touchdown to receiver Jireh Segi.
“We weren’t going to let that happen again,” said Josh Galeai, the 13U Smack City head coach, who also coached the group at the 11U level. “Two years ago, not taking that team is still one of my biggest regrets. This time, we said we were going to go no matter what — even if the roster had to be trimmed down, the money was going to come from somewhere. In 2023, we were in Arizona, and the drive back after deciding we weren’t going was one of the longest of my life. That’s why this year, once we were eligible, there was no hesitation.”
According to Tapuloa, 75 players made the trip to Charlotte, and raising the $40,000 needed to subsidize the weeklong trip was a community effort. Sponsorships, a car wash, a barbecue — players even ran the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot with QR codes on their backs — helped make the national championship run possible.
“We did so much fundraising, and it really helped build our team chemistry,” said Galeai. “It brought the families together like never before. And when we got to Charlotte, it was magical. Stepping off the plane, seeing Pop Warner everywhere, checking into the hotels, and walking into a complex with five or six games going on at once — it felt like the mecca of youth football, with teams from Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado. Just incredible.”
In North Carolina, Oceanside Pop Warner bumped into a familiar face: San Diego Strike Force quarterback Nate Davis was coaching an opposing team.
“So much of this comes down to the support and pride the Oceanside community has shown these kids,” said Megan Barnett, whose 11-year-old Carson played on the 11U squad. “These kids want to represent Oceanside in such a positive way — and they’ve been winning while doing it. One of our moms was even stopped at check-in by a national Pop Warner official who said our players were some of the nicest, most polite, most respectful she’d seen. Moments like that make you proud, not just of the wins, but of how these kids represent our city.”
Oceanside Pop Warner officials hope the championship victories will help the league overcome one of its biggest challenges: securing enough field space.
“My hope is that we get more access to fields, in particular stadiums,” said Galeai. “My team, in particular, had just one home game this year at MLK Middle School — a run-down field with potholes everywhere. The city has so many fields dedicated to soccer, which is great, but we bring championships too. If we could dedicate even one good turf field to youth football, that would be a win.”
The city of Oceanside and Pop Warner officials are planning a parade to celebrate the championship teams.
“That’s what we want for our boys — to get recognized and make sure that they’re represented,” Tapuloa said.
