The Ceres Seahawks Youth Football & Cheer Organization plans to have three teams compete at the Pigskin Tournament during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas.

“This will be our seventh year going to Vegas,” President Willie Solorio said. “We’ve won four out of six. It’s an overall, great experience. The kids always enjoy it.”

The tournament will be staged on six different turf fields, Nov. 25-28, at the All-American Sports Complex.

“Kids come from everywhere,” Solorio said. “They record every game so you can buy the DVD.”

Anthony Lopez will coach the Seahawks’ 16-and-under team.

“It’s a group of kids that have been playing together the last seven to eight years,” Solorio said. “It’s a very powerful team.”

Junior Schaefer will coach the Seahawks’ 13-and-under team.

“I think they’re going to win it,” Solorio said. “I have that much confidence in them.”

Chris Mendoza will coach the Seahawks’ 9-and-under team.

“The main thing is to have fun,” Solorio said while talking about expectations for the organization’s lower-level football team. “It would be nice to win it.”

Each roster will feature 22-24 players.

“Right now, we have 18 kids per roster,” Solorio said. “We still have two weeks left to sign up. I think all three teams will do well.  We got a good group of kids.”

Unable to practice on school campuses due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ceres teams will train Oct. 26 through Nov. 20 at local parks to prepare for the tournament.

“There’s always concern about COVID,” Solorio said. “When we start practicing, we’ll take the kids’ temperatures and practice social distancing. We’ll follow all protocols.”

The Seahawks had just one team participate in the Pigskin Tournament in Nevada last season.

Led by Lopez, the Seahawks’ 15-and-under team placed first in its bracket with a perfect 2-0 record.

Ceres shut out Utah in the finals and Canada in the semifinals.

“There’s more interest this year because there was no regular season (due to COVID-19),” Solorio said. “The kids are excited to play football.”