BOISE -- Remember those knights in shining armor we told you about in May?
On their way back from the spring national championship in Northern California, the Boise Black Knights U-13 youth football witnessed a violent rollover crash in the Oregon desert, stopped, jumped into action and lifted the flipped car to save a couple trapped inside.
Hailed as heroes, their talent as a team was a bit overshadowed by their viral Herculean rescue. They want to show the Treasure Valley - and the country - they're more than the middle school football team that went viral; they are dedicated, hard-working athletes and champions on a mission to reach their dreams.
The team is on another crusade to California - this time for the biggest game of their lives. And they say they need your help getting them there.
"They're the champs, they're the heroes. They're amazing kids," Boise Black Knights head coach Rudy Jackson said.
And now, the Boise Black Knights are trying to make it to the top.
"Right now we're seeking the number two team in the country. We were called out by the [Inland Empire] Ducks," Jackson told KTVB.
Jackson says the highly ranked California football team wants to take them on in August.
"They noticed what we were doing, how much work we were putting in and they wanted to play us because they want to play the best of the best and they obviously think we are the best of the best," Boise Black Knights captain and quarterback, Mason Mchugh, said. "We have a special group of kids here so we want to share that with the nation."
The travel football team went undefeated this spring season.
"What do we get if we win? Nationally ranked. One of the best teams in the country. So that puts Boise Idaho on the map. That puts the Black Knights on the map," Jackson said.
But they need to raise $25,000 for travel, hotel, food, transportation for the showdown between champions in California - a once-in-a-lifetime chance for what coaches and parents call a once-in-a-lifetime kind of team.
"They deserve everything coming to them. Not only are they great football players and great kids, but you guys all know they're heroes," Jackson added. "What we need there is just a little bit of help. It's a financial thing; these kids and their parents and everybody since February has given everything they've got. They know this team is special and the bond is there and they're very talented and they want to get them there but everybody's pockets aren't looking like that right now."
"Quite honestly it means the world to me," one player, Garrett Peterson, said.
"It would mean everything because everything we've worked for in the last six months would come true, to get a chance to play a big-time team in the nation," Mchugh said. "I don't think Boise has had a team like this. And I think it'd be super special to get Idaho some credit for producing talented young men and football players."
To raise money for travel expenses, the team is planning to throw a donation-only "Become a Knight" football clinic for younger, aspiring athletes. They're trying to secure business partnerships in the community and want to work hand-in-hand with Boise State to make it happen. The players and coaches plan to mentor and coach kids in the fundamentals of football, and all kids can participate regardless of their ability to pay.
"We want the kids to give back," Jackson added. "That just brings little Knights coming up they have a big chance to play big football."
The Black Knights are also collecting donations through their GoFundMe and a car wash fundraiser next weekend.
"It's more just raising youth and helping us get to where we want and helping us work harder, I mean, be more disciplined," Peterson added.
Learn more about the Boise Black Knights on their Facebook page.