Newport Mesa Patriots win Orange Bowl to cap undefeated Pop Warner football season

Joe Urban knows the rarity of an undefeated football season, at any level.

He was a sophomore fullback and linebacker on the storied 1994 Newport Harbor High football team, which finished the season 14-0.

Urban said he tried to impress the special nature of the moment on his Newport Mesa Pop Warner 12-and-under football players on Sunday, before they hit the field for the Orange Empire Conference Division 2 Orange Bowl title game.

They delivered. Big time.

The Patriots routed Fullerton 32-7 at Tustin High for the prestigious Orange Bowl title, finishing off a perfect 10-0 season.

“Winning a title is one thing, but staying perfect is another,” Urban said. “This group definitely came out every week and they practiced hard and played hard every Saturday and championship Sunday.”

Quarterback Joey Urban prepares to hike the ball during the Orange Bowl against Fullerton.

(Courtesy of Joe Urban)

Newport Mesa’s 12-year-olds handed Fullerton just its second loss of the season, both coming at the hands of the Patriots.

It is believed to be the first Orange Bowl title for the organization since 2015, when the then-Costa Mesa Pop Warner Eagles won a Division 4 title. The organization rebranded to the Newport Mesa Patriots a few years ago.

“The boys finished off a great season,” Urban, the son of the former longtime Newport Harbor freshman football head coach of the same name, said of the 32 players on his roster. “They didn’t let off the pedal once this year, which was fun. I had a great group of kids.”

Urban’s own son, Joey, played quarterback on this year’s Orange Bowl champions. Running backs Andrew Lee and Cade Smith were also key players, running behind an offensive line keyed by players like center Maverick Diaz and Collin O’Donnell.

“My offensive line was a big key this year,” Joe Urban said. “Without them, we definitely would not have been able to score all of the points that we put up. It’s tough at this age to teach a 12-year-old to block.”

Tight end Nick Lee, Andrew’s twin brother, made big plays and led the Patriots in receptions and touchdowns.

Tyler Hlista, Joey Urban, Rhett Hardesty, Blake Gravlin and Roderick Rodriguez, from left, are all smiles after the Patriots won the Orange Bowl on Sunday.

(Courtesy of Joe Urban)

Urban said outside linebacker Tyler Hlista and cornerback Rhett Hardesty played big roles defensively, as did safety Ryland Mason, who batted down some passes during Sunday’s game and helped stop the Fullerton passing game.

The team’s players will largely go on to play at Costa Mesa, Estancia and Newport Harbor high schools, Urban said. But before that, he believes the local Pop Warner organization will expand to two 13-and-under teams next season.

“It’ll be fun to grow the Newport Mesa Patriots Pop Warner program,” Urban said. “They had a ton of friends come out on Sunday to watch that game.”