Sports

Mentor Youth Football Enters 61st Season

The league includes about 340 Mentor children on 16 teams.

With enough participation to contain league play to city limits since 1962, Mentor Youth Football Association President David Baranaski doesn't mince words about the independent organization's impact on the varsity Cardinals' string of successful playoff runs.

"(Mentor High School) Coach (Steve) Trivisonno, when he first got the head coaching job, he aligned his program with ours," Baranski said. "Trivisonno and I work very, very close each year and that is why I believe his program is where it is today."

For instance, Baranski remembers North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky as a 7-year-old who led his team to a youth championship by the time he was 11.

This year's league includes about 340 Mentor children on 16 teams. The teams practice at schools throughout the city, with games played at Memorial Middle School or Mentor High.

The league, split into two divisions, is for children, ages 7 to 12 (sixth grade). Though full-equipment practice began this week, families can enter their children into the league through Aug. 18.


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