Everett Crimson Tide Pop Warner enjoys another successful year with top cheerleading, football teams

A-team cheerleaders head to Florida for nationals; U-11 Gold football team plays in the regional title game this Sunday

By Joe McConnell

It’s been another championship banner season for the Everett Crimson Tide Pop Warner Football League. Its A-team cheerleaders, coached by Nicole Buonopane, placed among the top teams in the regional championship meet recently at Springfield’s MassMutual Center to qualify for nationals next month at the Wide World of Sports Disneyworld Complex in Orlando, Fla. Prior to the regionals, the Everett girls captured the Northeastern Massachusetts Pop Warner (NMPW) state championship.

The league’s 11-year-old Gold football team is now looking to join them. But these Everett boys have been to Orlando before. Just last year as U-10s, they went to the Sunshine State after winning the regional championship, where they lost two straight games to California teams. They have already won the NMPW state championship this fall after shutting out Chelmsford in Billerica on Nov. 3, 31-0, and will now compete for the New England regional championship this Sunday, Nov. 17, against the New Haven Steelers at Worcester’s Foley Stadium, starting at 1 p.m., with the winner going to Orlando next month from Dec. 7-14 to compete for the national championship in Super Bowl 67.

In the game against Chelmsford, Jerai Boisrond-Rogers led the team in touchdowns with two. Tyson Fiore, Amari Sembitto and Andy Carbone each scored one touchdown. Ediell Diaz accounted for two more points from that game after kicking the ball straight through the uprights following one of the touchdowns. Quarterback Partrick Walsh hooked up with receiver Jerai Boisrond-Rogers for an extra point after another touchdown.

“We scored in all four quarters against Chelmsford,” said head coach Mel Fiore. “I thought we’d win, but not by that large of a margin. I was thinking we’d win maybe by two touchdowns at best. We only defeated Chelmsford by one touchdown in last year’s U-10 championship game.”

If the Gold team wins on Sunday against New Haven, Fiore envisions much different results in Florida this year. “I think we should be a much better team the second time around down there,” said Fiore, referring to the aforementioned two straight losses against California teams in 2023.

But the regional game on Sunday still stands in the way from another dream trip to Florida to play against their peers throughout the country with the national championship once again on the line.

Fiore, who’s also the vice-president of the league, is not alone in the on-the-field decision-making process. Kendall Winter, Joe D’Onofrio, Nick Olson, Angelo Carbone and Steve Golden are his assistant coaches. Stephanie Fiore is the Team Mom. And his team is made up of Ediell Diaz, Tallin Allen, Jerai Boisrond-Rogers, Christian DeMaina, Tyson Fiore, Symon Golden, Julian Gomez, Kevin Huezo-Canales, Noah Lyons-Sanz, Mason Marble, Brennis McGrath, James McLaughlin, Manny Najera, Andy Pena, Bryce Pierre, Mardoche Seide, Rubin Seide, Keiven Soto, Amari Sembitto, Josiah Val, Kaysen Victor, Patrick Walsh and Noah Yarde.

The Golden Boys from Everett won all seven regular season games this fall, before beating Billerica in a state semifinal contest, 18-6 to advance to the state title showdown versus aforementioned Chelmsford. They can now be a Perfect 10 on the year with a win on Sunday that will again send them to Florida to play for the national championship.