Eli Swearingen, 10, had never played organized football on a team prior to this past fall.

With the encouragement of his friends, though, Swearingen decided this year was the year to take up the sport. It paid off for the Northeast Trojans’ midgets red team, which made Swearingen its deep-ball threat to help it go undefeated for a third straight year.

“All my friends were playing on the team, and I always wanted to play football,” Swearingen explained. “This was my chance. It’s a really good way to go outside and have some fun. I’m competitive; I love sports, and this one always caught my eye.”

The Trojans competed in the Central Youth Mississippi Association’s 9- and 10-year-old division, winning a Super Bowl for the third straight year of the team’s existence. The team won its previous two Super Bowls in the 7- and 8-year-old division and hasn’t lost a game in three seasons.

For Swearingen, the Super Bowl win came as somewhat of a surprise.

“I was really happy, and I was shocked I had made it this far in my first year,” Swearingen said.

Playing for the Trojans was a good experience for reasons other than the winning, Swearingen added.

“They’re always nice,” he said, referring to his teammates. “The coaches are nice, and when I mess up, everyone tells me I can do it next time.”

Jerry Lee has been coaching the same group of Trojans all three years of the team’s existence, and he said each year is a fun experience with the kids who make up the team, which is what keeps him coming back as the coach.

“We have fun at practice,” Lee said. “We work hard. I enjoy the kids and like seeing them perform later on in high school.”

In addition to Swearingen, Lee said his son Jake Lee, who played quarterback, as well as running back Davian Franklin and all-purpose athlete Mikeal Willis, helped form a solid nucleus around which to build. Several players from the Trojans’ Boys and Girls Club 2014 squad — when the Trojans played in that league’s 5- and 6-year-olds division — decided to join back up with their former teammates as well. Even though this was the first year to move up to the 9s and 10s division, Jerry Lee said it wasn’t too difficult a jump.

“The teams are a little better, and the plays have to be a little different, and it is harder for defenses to adjust,” Jerry Lee said.

Still, the players were more than up to the challenge, Lee added.

“They work hard and don’t complain about practices,” Lee said. “We practice twice a week no matter what, and they do what they’re supposed to do, and they have great parents who always have their kids at practice.”

That hard work led to a 33-0 win in the Super Bowl against Enterprise, and winning it all never gets old, Lee said.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s what you work for and play all your games for, to win the Super Bowl.”

Jake Lee, 10, said it was fun to play in the Trojans’ offense, especially when he had targets like Swearingen, Willis and Franklin.

“They’re so fast, and they have some moves, too,” Jake Lee said.

Franklin said he enjoys having Jerry Lee as his coach due to the way the elder Lee makes everything fun.

“During practice, he’ll play around, but then we’ll go straight back into practice,” Franklin said. “He mixes it up.”

As a running back, Franklin said his best move is the stiff arm, and Willis attested to its effectiveness.

“It amazes me,” Willis said. “They just can’t stop him.”

Though he splits time between receiver and running back, Willis said he’s fine with whatever role the coaches need him to play.

“I don’t care,” Willis said. “I just try to score.”