The 8u Gridley Titans and cheerleaders celebrate after their hard-fought victory against the Las Plumas Jr Thunderbirds in the NAL Championship. Courtesy photo

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The 8u Gridley Titans played in the NAL Championship this past weekend against the Las Plumas Jr Thunderbirds at the Boneyard in Gridley, coming away with a hard-fought victory 12-6!

From the opening kickoff this game was a dog fight with both teams defenses being the stars of the game. The Titans broke the tie game when Branston Crislip threw a touchdown to Emmett Burns just before halftime. After Las Plumas scored in the third quarter, the Titans took the lead in the fourth and never gave it back after Emmett Burns scored on a long touchdown run.

Gridley's defense, led by Jax Terrell, Valentino Guillen, Kanon Buzzard and Benten Waller, never let the Las Plumas offense get in a groove. Outside of the one scoring play, the Titans shut down everything the Thunderbirds ran against them.

The 8u Titans travel to Shasta Lake to take on the Wheatland Jr Pirates in the SYF Championship on Saturday, Nov. 8.