Chandler’s Cadet Wolves and Scottsdale’s Jr. Pee Wee Firebirds remained alive Tuesday in the American Youth Football National Championships at Austin Tindall Park in Orlando, FL.

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The Wolves scored every time they touched the ball in the first half and rode an angry defense to a 32-0 win over the Abyssinian Crusaders of New York to advance to Thursday’s Sportsmanship Award game (losers’ bracket final) against the Staten Island Hurricanes.

Chandler rebounded from a 28-8 first-round loss Sunday to the Forest Park (IL) Blackhawks by swamping the Crusaders defensively. The New Yorkers ran 13 plays for minus-45 yards in the first two quarters.

“The kids reacted to the loss exactly the way we wanted them to do,” Wolves coach Ken LaCivita said. “We made some defensive adjustments, and they made a big difference. We’re really, really upset as a coaching staff that we didn’t have those adjustments in our first game. We would have kept things a lot closer, that’s for sure.”

Most of the Chandler defense played exceptionally well, but Imani Lee spent so much time in the Crusaders backfield that he could have worn a New York uniform. He had at least six tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Cito Toledo-Hemphill had two rushing touchdowns, including a 16-yarder to open scoring. That TD was set up by a nifty 12-yard run by Cutter Hatcher. Toledo-Hemphill also had a 1-yard burst late in the first quarter, which followed his 17-yard dash on the first play after the Wolves took over the ball on downs at the Crusaders 18.

Quarterback Devin Cowan had two TDs, one a 34-yard pass to Lee and the other a 1-yard plunge for the fourth Chandler score. Kicker Connor Nason was a perfect 4-for-4 on two-point conversion kicks in the game, which ended quickly after the second half was played under a running clock by AYF mercy rule.

The Firebirds also will play the Staten Island Hurricanes in the Jr. Pee Wee losers’ bracket final after a 35-0 romp past the Southside Cowboys of Houston. Malique Sharp had two rushing touchdowns for the Birds, plus one that was called back by penalty.

The win was consolation of sorts for the Birds, who had an 8-7 halftime lead Sunday only to give up 21 unanswered points to the Fredericksburg (VA) Bears. It was a tough opening-round assignment for Scottsdale. The Virginians are the defending AYF champions and ride a 36-gamewin streak into the winners’ bracket semifinals.

Three other Firebird teams will play in the winners’ bracket semifinals Wednesday, as will the Arizona 8th-grade Conference All-Star team.

The All-Stars beat MidFlorida 28-12 in Monday’s first-round game. They face MidConnecticut, 43-14 winners over NorCal, in the semifinals.

The Midget division Firebirds will face the Oak Grove Roughriders Wednesday morning. The Birds opened the tournament with a convincing 36-6 win over the Spirit of Faith Warriors, while Oak Grove advanced with a 22-6 win over the Liberty Lions.

In the Jr. Midget division, Scottsdale advanced to the semifinals with a win over the Mount Vernon Razorbacks. Scottsdale’s Pee Wee team defeated the Naperville (IL) Patriots 14-6 in the opening round and will face the Staten Island Hurricanes, 24-7 winners over the MLK Texans, in the semifinals. Both games are Wednesday.