Standout youth football team needs help to play in championship

DETROIT (WJBK) - A Detroit youth football team spent the fall driving down the field, but now need help driving down to Indiana for the big game.

You can't tell when you see these Detroit football players on the field but they've never really played the game. Believe it or not, these kids age 6 to 14, just started playing this year.

"The talent is great," said Cedric White, VP of the Bravo Bandits. "But it's not important if you don't get an education."

White formed the Bravo Bandits last summer with kids from the neighborhood near Bradby Park.

"They love it," White said. "If you could just see their faces."

White, along with assistant Michael Jones Jr., says these players have all had a rough start.

"Broken homes out here on the street, not doing anything," White said. "Regular kids that don't have any structure."

After assembling the team, White says he was pleasantly surprised.

"We weren't expecting the turnout," he said. "Now we are on our way to Indiana to play in the Midwest Championship in the Pop Warner League."

Along with White there have been only a few others funding the Bravo Bandits out of pocket.

"So far this year, (we've spent) about $10,000 or more," White said.

Well worth it as the team of 22 have already won the Michigan Championship, as White and others with the non-profit make sure the kids stay on track, picking them up and bringing them home. They even check in with their schools.

"To make sure their grades are up to par," White said. "Make sure they are doing the right things and not getting into trouble."

But White says money is running out the trip to Indiana to compete November 17th -- is likely to cost about 3-thousand dollars... and they need your help...

"It's for the kids," White said. "We want to make sure they get there. If they keep winning, I want to make sure to keep them moving on:"

And if the Bravo Bandits win the Midwest championship it's on to Massachusetts and possibly Florida for the national championship. For many of these kids it's a victory -- just being part of a team and traveling out of the city.

"It's something we really want them to do to get that experience," White said. "To see how things can be, if they keep living their life right."

>>>To donate, go to bravobanditsofdetroit.com