Super Bowl Champ Crowned

Nick Barnowski

Super Bowl champ crowned at Hutchings Elementary
Story By: Nick Barnowski

While the setting was not quite as grand as it was for Super Bowl XLVI, the gym at Hutchings Elementary was host to a packed audience to see the school’s best fourth grade football players compete for the Fourth Grade Super Bowl.

On a nice early-March day, it was the Steelers and the Lions who stole the spotlight in an offensive shootout. Led by game MVP Calvin Cotton, the Steelers took down the Lions 98-91 to claim the championship.

Cotton, who had six touchdowns and two interceptions for the game, clinched the victory for the Steelers in the final seconds of the game.

“It feels great to be game MVP,” Cotton, one of the more talented players to come out of the Fourth Grade Football program, said. “It’s an honor, a lot of players deserved it but I think I did a good job.”

The Fourth Grade Football league, ran by Hutchings Elementary computer teacher Mr. Ryan Horne, completed it’s ninth year after the Super Bowl. Fourth graders set up teams of four to six players and compete throughout the fall and winter in a journey to the Super Bowl.

Games are played during recess either outside or in the gym, and it’s run like an actual football league, as Mr. Horne keeps track of every players’ stats such as receptions, touchdowns, interceptions, and receiving yards.

It was clear what two teams were on track to be in the Super Bowl this year. The Lions and Steelers finished first and second respectively in the regular season, going 5-0 while both scoring 35 more points than the third place team in the league.

Lions player Matthew Boss, who led his team in touchdowns with four in the Super Bowl, noted that it would be one of the highlights of his elementary school career.

“It was awesome because we got to be how we wanted to be, we got to play football how we wanted to play football, and we just had fun,” Boss said.

Former Hutchings principal Mr. John Clay returned to play quarterback in the game.

“I’ve been the QB for eight years and Mr. Horne asked if I could come back and play and I said ‘certainly,’” Mr. Clay said. “I love playing in this game. Both teams played really well, it definitely was an offensive shootout and there were great plays on both sides of the ball.”

While only one team could walk away as Super Bowl champs, the memories that come from playing Fourth Grade Football will last forever.

“[When I’m in high school] I’m going to think about how these guys are my best friends,” Cotton said. “I’ll never forget them and how we were Super Bowl champions.”

*Guest author Nick Barnowski is a former Hutchings 4th Grade football player. Barnowski is now a Howell High School senior, Editor-in-Chief of Howell High's newspaper (The Main Four), and host of his very own sports blog (Nick on Sports). Nick is a very talented writer who has interviewed several high profile professional athletes and coaches. Barnowski's work has also been featured in USA Today, the Detroit News, the Ann Arbor News, and the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.

Posted in: Lions,Steelers,super bowl