How this Chesterfield football team is using their coach's memory to fuel a championship drive

RICHMOND, Va. -- The middle of summer with heat into the triple digits isn't exactly the atmosphere that makes most people think about football.

But these 5th and 6th graders with the UTL Eagles have some unfinished business ahead of them in Florida.

Justin Nichols is the head coach of this group who played their national title last year and finished third. This year, he and his players believe they have a roster that can win it all.

"We're fast," Nichols explained, "We've got a lot of speed and probably, in my opinion, the best quarterback in 6th grade in Chesterfield County."

"These are my best friends that I've known for a long time," said Roman Vega, a offensive and defensive player for the Eagles. "It's fun to play with them. It doesn't even matter, in Florida it's going to be even hotter than what it is here. So this is good preparation for that."

The long athletic year doesn't stop at the players though. Vega's mother often finds herself carting him and his friends all over Chesterfield County.

"They spend so much time together outside of sports as they do playing a game or at practice," stated Kathryn Vega. "They're all genuinely really good kids. They're coachable kids. They all listen, they're all respectful. And they love each other."

Roman was coached by his father Jonathan who was a mainstay on the sidelines of Roman's football and basketball games. And because of Jonathan's influence Coach Nichols was inspired to join the team.

"He ended up recruiting me," Nichols remembered. "Had me coaching basketball with him that following winter. He and I had been a tag team tandem ever since."

"He pushed me to my limits every time," Roman Vega stated. "If I made the slightest mistake, he would yell at me the most but I knew he was just making sure I was playing my best because he knows my limits."

Coach Vega was there for everyone giving rides, advice, and guidance to anyone in need. His brand of affection was called 'Vega Love' and if you were a lucky recipient you never forgot how much he cared.

"He loved being a coach almost as much as he loved being a father," Kathryn Vega explained. "A lot of these kids on this team looked to him as a father figure. He spent a lot of time with these kids outside of sports."

"We were all optimistic and hopeful that he was going to get better," Coach Nichols says of Coach Vega. "He had been real sick for a couple of months. It's been a rough few months."

Coach Vega passed away in April. Roman and his mother were back at practice soon after, gaining strength from their community and their athletic family.

"It felt really weird not having him there but you gotta keep going," said Roman Vega.

Now the Eagles play for more than just a national championship. They play for the memory of their fallen coach and want nothing more than to win for him and their family.

"I think he would be so excited for this team to win a national championship," stated Kathryn Vega. "It would mean a lot to our family to say that he helped guide a lot of these children to that win."

The Eagles will head to Florida later this month for their tournament being held at the IMG Academy in Miami.

You can donate to a GoFundMe for the team to help with travel expenses here.

CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.