Boy, was there fun to be had at Davenport Field Friday afternoon.

The Bert Williams Iron Pup Challenge event at the historic field attracted a large crowd, and there was also plenty of popsicles and energy drinks to keep everyone in attendance safely hydrated. The young competing athletes were even treated with refreshing sprinkler sprays and trips down the slip-n-slide to cool off after a series of grueling obstacles that took up half the football field in a large square formation.

The Iron Pup Challenge was broken up into three age categories: the Youth Division (7- to 9-year-olds), the Junior Division (10- to 11-year-olds) and the Senior Division (12- to 14-years-olds). All the competitors that represented each division should consider themselves champions after Fridays exhausting events — and the obstacle course was one that would probably appear daunting to many adults.

The Iron Pup Challenge began with the Youth Division going first, and all the participants waited until camp organizer Bert Williams and other assistants called their names. The kids would then step up and start the led-sled event and would each bravely hustle though several more challenges until they reached the misty spray of the slip-n-slide. Each athlete was judged on overall time, and the coaches monitoring the times would stop their watches as soon as each competitor made contact with a slippery football that awaited them at the end of the slide.

In the Youth Division, Peyton Massengale was the overall winner with a time of 1:07:29. Payton Gunby jetted his way to second place with a time of 1:14:03.

Felix Jones was the star of the Junior Division leading all his competitors with a blazing time of 1:03:37. Scott Niblett finished second with a time of 1:18:04. Worth mention is the third place finisher in this competition, Brandon Davis, who finished with a time of 1:18:05, a tenth of second away from Niblett.

The Seniors were led by Billy Whitlock who finished with an astounding time of 56:88 — the only competitor to finish the Iron Pup Challenge in under a minute. Right behind Whitlock was Malik Bradley who also recorded an impressive time of 1:00:23.

The Punt, Pass and Kick competition held earlier also spawned some big winners. In the Youth Division, Kevin Barlow finished as the top punter with a boot of 21 yards. The Top Passer award went to Peyton Massengale with a toss of 24 yards. Zach Williams was the Youth’s top kicker with a distance of 39 yards. The Overall Winner award went to Massengale who finished with 67 total yards on the day.

The Junior Division was dominated by the performance of Felix Jones, who picked up three trophies on the afternoon. Jones led all Juniors with an overall distance of 104 yards. Jones was also the top passer with a distance of 39 yards and was also the top kicker with a distance of 37 yards. The top Junior punter was Laughlin Smith, who finished with a 29-yard punt to lead his competitors.

Hunter Harding led the Senior Division and finished with 102 points to take home the overall trophy. Harding was also the best punter in his age group with a distance of 34 yards. Jon Qualls was awarded as the top passer with a throw of 41 yards. The top kicker was Jordan Bush who outpaced his competitors with a distance of 34 yards.

Cameron Brown was one of the few athletes who was able to propel the large medicine ball over the goal post — a feat that was one of the most challenging to complete Friday. The fact that the kids were throwing the heavy ball from the gut, with a tremendous upward heave, and above their heads had many mothers on the edge of their seats. But it was all for the game of football.

“Really, everything happened that we wanted to happen out here. We got a lot of the young kids from this community and surrounding communities out here working to get better as football players and athletes — and work in tough conditions a little bit and continue to push through it. We like to see these kids come out here and overcome this stuff and have a great time,” said GMC JC football coach Bert Williams after the event. “One of the primary things that we want to make sure happens is healthy competitiveness out here. Everybody is pushing to do their absolute best but also supporting the next guy as he pushes to do his absolute best.”

Coach Williams was pleased with Friday’s large turnout and reiterated the importance of supporting our community’s young athletes. “That’s the thing that we all need to do in all levels of athletics — and that’s to encourage them. It’s great to see these kids get in line with that and keep pushing themselves and each other.

The annual Bert Williams Junior Bulldog Day Camp is molding champions — and every single player who left the field Friday went home as a champion. Congratulations!