For a Sharon Hill youth team headed to national championships, ‘it’s deeper than football’

With three regional championship wins over the last month, the undefeated Sharon Hill Ramblers are making Delaware County history, and they have the trophy collection to prove it.

But playoffs — and an upcoming trip to a national tournament — didn’t always look like they’d be in the youth football team’s playbook. Over the summer, the 13-and-under team was scrambling to find a full lineup: only eight players showed up to practice.

“[The coaches] were looking at each other like, man, this isn’t our season,” said coach Romeo Rivello. Former players had decided to pursue other sports or interests, he said. “But we said, ‘We’re still gonna do what we’ve got to do,’ and slowly but surely, they started trickling in, and formed a team that’s just elite.”

The Ramblers’ squad grew to a still small-but-mighty 17 players — meaning that many of the 12- and 13-year-olds do not leave the field during the game, playing dual roles on offense and defense. It’s not uncommon, Rivello said, for opponents to have more players on their bench than the Ramblers’ entire roster, leaving “little room for error.”

But that works to the team’s advantage, said Mike “Salt” DeMarco, an eighth grader at Harris Elementary, who plays both running back and linebacker.

“Everybody knows what to do in each position, we’re fluent,” he said. “And we’re all super close, those are my brothers.”

On Thursday, DeMarco and his teammates headed to Kissimmee, Fla., for a shot at the American Youth Football national championship, marking the first time a Sharon Hill team has secured a spot in the competition through game wins, Rivello said. Brackets will be announced Friday, and the team will compete over the next week for the championship title, hoping to stay undefeated.

With a recent Independent Youth Football League win and the AYF state and Big East titles under their belts, Rivello said the Ramblers are the first in Delaware County to win all three championships.

The trip marks not only DeMarco’s first national championship, but also his first time on a plane. “It’s crazy,” he said. “It really means a lot.”

DeMarco, who dreams of playing in high school, said he’ll take the field in Florida in honor of his dad, who can’t accompany him due to medical reasons. “He pushes me, he’s the main reason I want to work as hard as I do,” he said.

And for Rivello, who has been coaching for around eight years, the championship is bigger than the team.

“I’m very happy that we can represent the community in a positive way,” he said. “And the players, this is, you know, the fruits of their labor, their hard work and their dedication and blood, sweat and tears.”

Their secret: practice, chemistry, and more practice, Rivello said. “We’re just going a little more intense than normal. This year is special.”

But even for the winning atomic powerhouse team, the road to championships did not come without its hurdles off the field, Rivello said. Money was tight, and the group worried about funding the trip for its players — including airfare, lodging, and meals. Through calendar sales, the coaches’ own pocketbooks, and donations from the community and other teams across the league, they pulled together the more than $7,500 needed.

The team also practices near Academy Park High School, where last year a football game turned to tragedy after an 8-year-old girl was killed by police officers responding to a shooting nearby — roiling the small Sharon Hill community.

» READ MORE: A year after Fanta Bility’s death, her family is mourning a vibrant child gone too soon

“It definitely impacted the team and the community,” Rivello said, “We talked to them about it, and saw where their heads were at. You know, not only do we want to be great football coaches, but at the end of the day, we all take pride in being mentors.”

“It’s deeper than football,” Rivello said, adding that the team’s coaching staff regularly checks in with their players to ensure they are excelling in school and in their personal lives.

“Football is probably second — we really care about the kids a lot. And if we can impact the kid with a lesson that we teach them on the field that will last them for a lifetime, then that’s definitely the ultimate win. Winning on the field is great, but if we could put something in their brain that’s positive and they remember forever, that’s the true victory.”