Two West Liberty Middle School athletes are playing football with the best young kids in the state.
Pierre Shield and Jonah Morrison are members of Team Iowa Football, an all-star football team comprised of middle school athletes.
“Team Iowa is a select organization for football players in 6th, 7th and 8th grade who want to compete at an elite level,” the team’s website says. “Our mission is to showcase elite players in Iowa. We always strive to bring together a compilation of talented players... and to highlight what these players have already accomplished within their league or hometown.”
Practices take place three times per week at Valley High School in West Des Moines starting in mid-October through the end of November.
This past weekend, Shield, Morrison and their 28 teammates won the Midwest Regional tournament in Des Moines.
Team Iowa faced off against teams from Missouri, Kansas and Council Bluffs from all three grade levels and came out on top in the round robin.
There are two more tournament scheduled for this season. Next week, they team heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Sooner Classic.
During the first week of December, Team Iowa will travel to Kansas City for the National Championship tournament.