One of the stars of the Little League team is 3B Patrick Stallings, who now is returning to the football field for the first time in years, playing defensive guard and center for Columbus Midland Middle School's Jaguars.

"I hadn't played football since I was nine," Stallings said.

For Stallings, the differences in preparing for the two sports are easy.

"I think football is more about conditioning," Stallings said. "There's more running and conditioning in football. Baseball is more about practicing on the basics."

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Stallings, as he's had to adjust back to a school routine after his Northern Little League team played a month of championship baseball, ending in triumph at Williamsport's Lamade Stadium.

"The good thing is that the principal, when they came back, held a pep rally for the team," said Patrick's father, Rick Stallings. "They got all of the talk out of the way in one day and let the boys adjust quicker."

Assistant Prinicipal Richard Green noted the historic achievement of the team, which features six players from Midland Middle School.

"It's the biggest thing that's happened to Columbus since we hosted Olympic softball in 1996," Green said.

"This put Columbus on the map," said Rick Stallings.

But for now, it's football that's on the mind of Patrick Stallings.

When asked about his favorite part about football, Stallings smiled and answered "hitting people."

"Our team is going to be pretty good," Stallings said. "We're 3-0 right now, and I think we're pretty good."

Stallings is a diehard fan of the Auburn Tigers. His favorite player?

"Kenny Irons, who's their running back...he's my favorite player," said Stallings.

Patrick has followed the Tigers from the very beginning, as his family has been casually rooting for the Tigers for years. "Patrick's room was full of Auburn stuff, before we took it all down to paint the walls," said Rick Stallings.

"We were all changing rooms," said Patrick Stallings. "I'll put it all back up again."

With the obvious athletic talent that Stallings possesses, what would happen if rival Alabama came calling?

"I don't know if he'd take it, but I might take it if it's the only offer he gets," said Rick Stallings, laughing.

"It depends if I'll take it, because I'd have to find out if I was being accepted to Auburn," said Patrick, showing proof of his strong loyal ties to Auburn.

And with his athletic talent, plus his strong commitment on the field, who could blame Tommy Tuberville or Tom Slater if they made an early visit to the Stallings residence?