Every football fan is used to crowning the Super Bowl champion in the winter, but the Bethel termite football team became champs in November.
In a terrific defensive battle, the West Division champion Blue Demons edged the East Division’s best East Buncombe, 2-0, to win the WNC Youth Football League Super Bowl at C.E. Weatherby Stadium on Saturday.
Locked in a scoreless contest in the third quarter, Bethel drove to the Rockets’ one only to fumble the ball over to East Buncombe at the half-yard line.
On the next play, however, Bethel’s Gabe Nussman and Will Medford dropped the Rockets’ running back in the end zone for a safety.
In the final minutes of the game, East Buncombe moved the ball to the Bethel 15.  But several penalties pushed the Rockets back to the mid-field. On a desperate fourth-and-30 pass, Cane Early intercepted the ball with 13 seconds left.
Bethel’s Ian Rogers was named the WNC Youth League Termite Super Bowl’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, while Early was honored as the Most Valuable Player.