- The Capital City Steelers had hoped to take home a Pop Warner national championship, but the team of 9-, 10- and 11-year-olds lost Friday morning's Division II Junior Pee Wee title game 32-12 to the North Long Beach (Calif.) Panthers.

- In the Division II Pee Wee Warner Championship game, the Union Road Jaguars lost 15-12 to the Raritan Bay (N.J.) Jaguars, who won with a fourth-quarter touchdown.

- In consolation games Friday, the Division II Midget Capital City Steelers lost a heartbreaker, 9-8 to the Cambrian Valley (Calif.) Longhorns, and the Forsyth County Broncos rallied to defeat the East Dallas Desperados of Texas 20-18 in a Division II Junior Midget consolation game.

- On Saturday, another state team played for a title, but the Oak Ridge Colts lost 37-6 to the Frankford (Pa.) Chargers in the Division I Midget final.

- The cheerleading competitions included the Sanford Sting (Pee Wee Novice Small), the North Raleigh Bulldogs (Pee Wee Novice Large), the Garner Trojans (Junior Midget Novice Small) and the North Raleigh Bulldogs (Midget Novice Small). Learn more at share.triangle.com
STATE GAMES MOVING TO CHARLOTTE

For the first time, the State Games of North Carolina will be held in Charlotte. The 23rd edition of the annual Olympic-style sports festival will be held June 19-28 at venues in and around the Queen City.

Individuals and businesses can make tax-deductible donations to support N.C. Amateur Sports, the nonprofit organization that conducts the games. Learn more by calling 919-361-1133 or visiting www.ncsports.org.

HENDERSON Football TEAM GOES 8-0

Henderson Middle School is celebrating a big accomplishment: The Rams went 8-0 during their MAC-9 Football season against teams from Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties.

The team will be honored at 11 a.m. today with a banquet at a local steakhouse. That event follows a Dec. 8 City Hall gathering with Mayor Pete O'Geary, the City Council and state Rep. Michael Wray.

The 57-player team's motto is "If we become family, we become champions." Coach Eric Watkins, a former Winston-Salem State player, said he created the motto when he started coaching the team 14 years ago. He said he also tells the students, "Hard work beats talent if talent doesn't work hard."

The coaches emphasize performing well in the classroom, building self-respect and overcoming peer pressure. Coaches even gathered players for Saturday-morning practices and insisted they keep their locker room clean like a home.

"We'd call practice at 9 and kids would be there by 8. When we saw that, we said, 'Whoa, we've got something here,' " Watkins said.

The result was an performance on and off the field that has the school and the community celebrating.