The Liberty Chargers, a Pop Warner program for boys ages 8 to 14, won state championships last month in the 8-, 9-, 11-, 12- and 14-year-old categories. On Saturday, the nine-and-under squad defeated the Toms River (N.J.) Seahawks 33-6 in the Eastern Regional semifinals in Philadelphia.

A win in the Eastern Regional Championship against the Thornden Park Bulldogs would send the Chargers to Charlotte, N.C., next month to compete for a national championship.

Coach Delontai Bruton said the team's success stems from discipline and preparation. The Chargers practiced four days a week.

"I knew we were going to be okay as long as they came out and played their game," Bruton said. "They've been working hard, and they were really prepared."

The run is all the more striking because the roster is almost entirely new to the sport. Of the team's 25 players, only three had played football before this season, Bruton said.

Kim Trueheart, a longtime Baltimore youth advocate who helps coordinate the city's Pop Warner program, called the team's first-year performance extraordinary. She said adult coaches came together to work with more than 200 young people across the program.

"We've taken all season to do it. Just engaged them and worked them out and trained them, and I'm so proud of them," said Trueheart, founding director of the Liberty Village Project, which operates out of the Liberty Rec & Tech Center. The volunteer-led nonprofit has for years brought local organizations together to serve youth, seniors and families.

But the triumph has come with a mounting financial strain. Trueheart said she and Bruton are covering most of the costs for uniforms, equipment, travel and hotels themselves.

"It's costing me an arm and a leg," she said. "So far, I put about $8,000 out. It's going to cost another $6,000 to $15,000 to get them to the finals and then maybe to North Carolina."

Trueheart and Bruton have been spreading the word online and through personal networks to raise money. They say the need is urgent.

"I don't know if they're going to make it past this weekend, but we need to get the word out that we have Black kids from Baltimore who are now the state and regional champions and they need support," Trueheart said.

Bruton said he waived the usual Pop Warner registration fee because the team was new and many families could not afford it.

"I had to make my team free this year," he said. "The life people are living right now – it's hard for these kids and parents. It was very hard trying to get the families to help."

He added that after the team returns from its current trip, players plan to go door to door in their jerseys to seek support.

A 2009 graduate of Woodlawn High School, Bruton played at Wesley College and Coppin State University before moving into youth coaching. He recalled that when he played youth football, there was more parental support and expenses were lower.

Not every Charger has a large, high-tech helmet, which is considered better able to protect against concussions. Such helmets cost $300 to $400 each or more.

"We need help with that. I can tell you that," Bruton said.

For information on supporting the team, organizers point to the Instagram account supercharged_9u and Kim Trueheart's Facebook page.