Amid Durham crime, youth football program keeps eye on national prize

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The next Patrick Mahomes might be on the fields at Campus Hills Park in Durham.

But Tuesday night, it was all about the basics for this under-6 group of children from the Bull City Bull Dogs.

"They are building leadership skills, learning discipline, you have to listen to someone besides your parents from time to time," said Talaya Burris, the mother of a 10-year-old who plays for the team but in his age bracket.

The team called ABC11 to talk. The Bulldogs got invited to nationals in Florida and they need the public's help.

The tournament is in Tampa in December and they need more than $8,000.

"We want to make this happen for these kids and we will continue to fight until we get it done," said Fred Evans, co-founder of Bull City Bulldogs.

No one here ignored what they had seen in the Bull City in the past three days and what these kids see.

Many of them are from communities where that violence happens.

"You can't blind them from it," Evans said. "It's going to continue to happen. One thing we do is pray about these kids."

Durham Police said eight people have been shot -- three fatally since the weekend. At this point, they don't know whether any of them are connected.

"If we keep them busy, that's less time they have to be eaten up by these mean streets," Evans said.

The team needs $8,500 to go to nationals in Tampa in December.

Talaya is doing whatever she can to keep her 10-year-old out of trouble and get these kids to Florida.

"These kids can benefit from being in a new environment," she said. "Seeing other kids like them doing some of the same things and seeing teams that may be better for it."