Middle Georgia Power brings home AAU National Title

DAVENPORT, Fla. — The Middle Georgia Power, a local 10U football team playing within the Amateur Athletic Union, are national champions following a 22-1 season and a week of success at the National Championships in Davenport, Florida, from Dec. 6-11.

In the title game, the Power pulled out a close win against the East Orlando Preds, 13-12. The squad went 7-0 during tournament play that week, beating out teams from Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, among other places.

“It’s still got me on Cloud Nine,” Middle Georgia Power President Sean Dinkins said. “I just wanted those kids to have that chance, have that feeling of being national champs. … They enjoyed every minute of it as well as the coaches.”

The championship squad consisted of Marquis Fullwood, Rahki Jones, Samayan McKenzie, Brayden Scott, Jasper Coney, Derek Staley, Jacobi Hughes, Kenderek Causey, Aiden Sanders, Adarius Felder, Chastin Walker, Jameer Carson, Zaylen Johnson, Zechariah Montgomery, Jaylen Johnson, Ja’Sean Pless, Yhi’heim Rumph, Tosh Felder, Cliffton Wimberly, Landon Coates, Tomie Wimberly, Eric Tisdol, Jayden Webster, Keldon Tookes, Jermaine Hughes, Aiden Davis and Dalton Roland.

The championship coaching staff consisted of President Sean Dinkins, Vice President Derrick Embry, along with fellow leadership: Deion Nelson, DeSean Dinkins, Dustin Roland and Sam McKenzie.

Over the week of play, QB Samayan McKenzie threw six touchdowns and ran for 225 rushing yards. RB Adarius Felder ran for four touchdowns and 550 yards on the ground.

WR and MVP Kendereck Causey caught seven touchdown passes, ran for 150 yards on the ground and threw three touchdowns himself. He even had 26 tackles from the position of middle linebacker.

DT Derek Staley had 13 tackles, while DT Chastin Walker had 10. DT Dalton Roland had himself a week on the defense with two sacks and eight tackles.

To take part in the national championship matchup, Dinkins said the Power had a nearly flawless season, eating up just about all the competition they faced along the way.

“They went through the league [play] with no problem,” Dinkins said. “We won a state championship and did a few tournaments.”

Competing in the state championship, they matched up with the Cordele Cobras, Tifton Vipers, Tifton Mustangs and others, battling it out with Macon United to secure the title.

The Power’s one loss on the season came during the championship game of a tournament in Cartersville. In Warner Robins, they took part in the Winter Brawl, coming out on top as city champs and heading to AAU play.

“It was really steep competition, especially from Macon United; they’ve been doing AAU for several years,” Dinkins said. “We’re a first-year team.

“We actually combined a few teams here in Warner Robins, and we took off. We’ve got some of the best coaches in the world, and we pulled it together.”

The players and coaches had to have a support system to be this successful, Dinkins added.

“Each parent had a big role in it,” he said. “Without the parents, we couldn’t have made it happen.”

He added that the AAU sees a bit of travel during the season, preparing kids for middle school football if they were to play at their respective schools. It even allows them to develop chemistry with the same players they would likely be playing with at Warner Robins area schools if they were to continue with football into high school.

The Middle Georgia Power organization is made up of players from ages 6-12, complete with dual age groups: 5U/6U, 7U/8U, 9U/10U and 11U/12U. The kids come from Warner Robins, Perry, Macon and Eastman.

Three of the teams traveled to Florida to play for the championship title, but the 8U and 12U teams were knocked out during semifinal play.

Learn more about AAU Football by visiting aaufootball.org.

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