Plainfield Saints 9U Pop Warner football team wins state championship
The Plainfield Saints 9U Pop Warner football team has won the 2025 State Championship.
The Saints are the Chicago area's only 9U Division 1 Pop Warner Team, made up of 9-year-olds.
After going 8-0 this season, the team advances to the Mid-America Pop Warner Regionals. The regionals feature top teams from across the Midwest — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
On Sunday, Nov. 9, the Plainfield Saints will take on another team called the Saints from Warrenville, Ohio. The winner of the game in Crown Point, Indiana, will advance to the National Pop Warner Football Championships in December in North Carolina.
The Plainfield Saints 9U Division 1 team is being honored not only for its victories, but also for its all-Black male coaching staff. It is the only team within the Plainfield Saints organization of 17 teams in which all the coaches are Black fathers — which the team notes presents a powerful image of fatherhood and mentorship in youth sports programs.