The Dorchester Eagles Pop Warner program took another trip to Florida this month to participate in the national Super Bowl tournament and came back with a third-place trophy and a new name.

The 12U Eagles, one of eight teams in the nation in their Division 1 category, started off the tournament with a 32-20 win over defending national champion Santa Cruz (CA) Seahawks on Dec. 4. Three days later, they went down, 14-0, against the Dowingtown (PA) Young Whippets, the eventual national champions who defeated the Portage (IN) Indians.

Eagles President and Coach Terry Cousins said it was a hard defeat to stomach, as this team had all the momentum up to a point, which came in the third quarter with the score knotted at zero. The Eagles were on the Whippets’ one-yard line, when a fumble and a penalty gave Dowingtown the ball, which they took down field for a touchdown.They added another score very late in the game for the 14-0 result.

“I really feel if we’d have scored on that play at the one-yard line, it would have changed everything about that game,” Cousins said. “To lose to the team that ended up winning and we held them to eight points most of the game – that says something. It was 0-0 at halftime and we had a chance to score first.”

Standouts for the team included Xavier Blackmon and Christian Simmons, with the coaching staff including Tony Hurston, William Finkley, Darryl Simmons, Swayne Blackmon, Vadell Clark, and Bonae Swayne-Price.

For the Eagles, it was the second straight year that they encountered frustration in the Florida championships. Cousins said they are making a charge to parents across the city to bring their kids to the Eagles to combat the “all-star teams” the Dorchester gridders often face in Florida.

“We beat everyone from Boston to Connecticut and everywhere else and then we get down there and we are literally playing all-star teams,” he said. “Our region is the only region that doesn’t allow all-star teams. I respect that, but when you get down there and they’re loaded top to bottom and don’t have any players subject to the mandatory play rule, it’s frustrating.”

Now, Cousins said, they will change their program name to the Dorchester Elite Eagles. “There’s a difference between recreational football and elite football. We’ve earned the right to be called competitive. We’ve been down there 17 times now. The little kids are recreational, but when you get to 12U and 14U, that’s competitive…Our city has elite talent.”

He added that they have won with a team philosophy of playing with whoever shows up and coaching them into good players. That, he said, they won’t abandon either. “We will still have kids on our roster that wouldn’t be on anyone’s team in Florida,” he said. “We take them, believe in them, and teach them football.”

Cousins thanked US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, the Martin Richard Foundation, a guy he called Steve, Boston After School & Beyond, the South Boston Pop Warner program, and other special people who believe in Dorchester for their support.