Undefeated Hurricanes roll into playoffs

The sixth-grade Hurricanes finished an undefeated season Sunday with a 31-0 shutout victory over the Cardinals at Youth Sports Inc.

Hurricanes head coach Bret Toelkes said he used some of the game to play some kids at new positions.

“The kids played hard today,” Toelkes said. “We had the chance to play some guys in some different positions, and we were able to work on using those guys in some different spots.”

Caleb Bowen played four different positions during the game, including running back, linebacker and place kicker for the Hurricanes.

The first action Bowen saw came after an opening-drive 30-yard touchdown run by Jermel Fleming, when Bowen lined up to kick the extra point.

The snap was good and was put down nicely by Hurricanes holder Jason Tetuan, but Bowen’s kick sailed through the air and glanced off the right goal post.

The game plan for the Hurricanes during the first half was to run the football. And Bowen got his opportunity in the second quarter. He didn’t have to carry the football very long either, taking a handoff 55 yards for an easy six points.

After three plays and a punt by the Cardinals, the Hurricanes offense went back to work. Hurricanes quarterback Luke Kellum called his own number on a 20-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown. Kellum ran the last five yards with two Cardinals defenders holding onto his back, but he was still able to fall over the goal line.

Hurricanes place kicker Caleb Bowen, left, and holder Jason Tetuan watch the football as it bounces off the right goal post Sunday at Youth Sports Inc.

Then it was time for Bowen to come up big again.

He threw a devastating hit on Cardinals kick returner Zach Bagwell on the Hurricanes kickoff.

Two plays later, Bowen intercepted a pass from Cardinals quarterback Derek Webb and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion run by Bowen gave his team a 25-0 lead at halftime.

The Hurricanes ran 14 straight running plays to kill all eight minutes of the quarter, but came up empty-handed in the points column.

Toelkes was impressed with the Cardinals’ resiliency during the third.

“I thought the Cardinals did a really good job of hanging in there the whole game.” Toelkes said. “Especially when they were able to hold us the whole third quarter.”

The final quarter of the regular season opened with Hurricanes running back Tyler Brenn scoring the final touchdown of the game.

With the 31-0 win, the Hurricanes ended the regular season with a perfect 6-0 record. The team heads into the playoffs as the likely favorites to win the Toy Bowl Championship.