Germantown’s Pop Warner football team will play in national semifinals Wednesday

The Northwest Raiders are still alive in the 2011 Pop Warner National Championship race.

Having defeated the Cedar Crest (Texas) Comets 30-0 on Sunday – thanks to two touchdowns from both Yusuf Tribble and Nasir Bonner – they will face the Pfafftown (NC) Packers at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday. The game can be viewed by logging on to ESPN3.com.

The winner will advance to the championship game which will be played on Saturday but aired on ESPN2 on Christmas. The perk of that game – besides a chance to vie for a national championship – is that both teams get new uniforms and helmets via Russell Athletic.

“They have a decent running back,” said assistant coach Rich Williams on the phone Tuesday from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., noting that he’s confident that his team, which trains and plays in Germantown, can prevail. “It’s a comfortable environment here; all types of teams from all over, even Canada, Mexico, Japan. It’s not the inner city, so the players can let their guards down. They get to be themselves.”

The Raiders were among four teams for which a public/private partnership between the City, Comcast, the Philadelphia Eagles and other donors provided funding to cover portions of their travel expenses.