PALATKA - Fueled by wins in the 8-unders, 12-unders and 10-unders on a playoff weekend in Palatka, the Fleming Island Dreadnaughts Pop Warner football program will send two teams to the round two playoffs on Saturday. Oakleaf’s 10-Unders Renegades team advanced with a win in their division to also move on. The weekend featured the conference champions from First Coast Conference and the Putnam Conference lineups.

The Fleming Island Dreadnaughts 8-Unders team won a 33-14 decision over a Gainesville Gators squad while the 12-Unders won a 44-0 win over a Palatka squad.

“The 12-unders team is the team that belonged to 10 year old Connor McKay, a great player of ours that passed away last year from a brain cancer,” said Dreadnaughts coach Mike Kenny, who coaches by the 8s ahd 12s. “That team has been on a mission to win a national title in honor of Connor. His dad Sean McKay was in Palatka at the game.”

Kenny noted that all three teams won their conference titles to qualify into the region round one games with a second round on Sat., Nov. 12 at Bolles.

“We won our conference championships and the Oakleaf 10s won in the third game on Saturday at Palatka,” said Kenny. “Carlos Lowe coaches the Oakleaf Renegades.”

Teams have to win three rounds of regional playoff games games; two on Saturday and a third the following week, the region championship at the Oceanway fields in Jacksonville against a probable slew of teams from Georgia. The regional winners enter the Pop Warner National Championship Tournament featuring teams from all over the United States.

“Our region, the southeast region, is the largest in all of the Pop Warner regions nationwide,” said Kenny. “There are two games to win be the national champion.”

Kenny noted that the incoming tropical storm may have an impact on the game schedule if the Bolles High School playoff game gets moved due to weather.

The Dreadnaughts are scheduled to play the winners of Greater Jax vs. Augusta East Georgia Conference winners.

“All the Greater Jax teams lost to Georgia teams,” said Kenny. “We play at 8s against Georgia United at Bolles and the Harlem Bulldogs for the 12s. If we win, the 12s, we will play the same Valdosta Titletown team that beat us last year only we play them here at Oceanway.”