FROM THE SPORTS DESK:It’s all about the Blue Cheese

The stench that comes from this corroded slab of cheese is something like the waste at a city dump. The aroma would make anyone cringe.

The cheese’s texture has decayed well beyond the suggested date to eat, spoiling in a plastic container for the past four months.

Oh to eat it, that would be a form of torture. Most would fear even touching it. But for a Newport Beach boys’ soccer team, it’s something meaningful. It’s special.

That cheese is the boys’ mascot.

The Newport Beach team of 10-and-under boys gave themselves the nickname the Blue Cheese four months ago and away they went.

They lost their first game, but would not lose again until their season ended on Sunday.

Yes, in addition to that awful cheese, the Blue Cheese had a memorable season. They went 12-2-2, became crowned as the Region 57 champion and reached the Area Q title game.

Along the way, they shared laughs about that cheese.

“The cheese is a motivational factor,” Blue Cheese Coach George Logan said before the championship game on Sunday. “If the kids are ever really tired or sad, we bring out the cheese and one whiff gets them going.”

Logan used the spoiled cheese to inspire his players throughout the season. Each week, he gave out what he called the “Cheese Whiz Award,” to the best player of the game.

“It’s been refrigerated at times and non-refrigerated,” Logan said. “It’s been brought to schools for show and tell, but it’s always with us.”

It was with them Sunday afternoon, when the Newport Beach boys defeated the South Irvine B team, 3-0 in the semifinals. Nick Hanna scored in the first half. Anthony Cecere and Tommy Casey each found the back of the net in the second half.

But after the championship game, the players said good-bye to their blue cheese. They lost, 2-0, to South Irvine’s A team and afterward held a burial ceremony for the cheese. Logan said they buried it at an undisclosed site.

Only the players know, the same players who, one by one, scooped a shovel of dirt on top of the hole.

Robbie Farber said he was sad.

“I got flashbacks of how great the season was,” said Farber, who turned 11 on Monday. “It was fun. I have never been that far in any other season. I’ve been playing soccer for six years and we always made it to the [area] semifinals. I think everyone played hard. Our coach was great and enthusiastic. He always had a positive attitude.”

The Blue Cheese made being positive easy for their coach because they kept on winning. In their three games previous to the final, they had outscored teams 14-0. They’d won six in a row before reaching the Area Q final.

“It was a good experience,” said Chris Beyrooty, an 11-year-old. “We had a good coach and a fun team. All the players were really nice and funny.”

Sometimes they were a little too funny. Logan admitted at times he was annoyed that his team wouldn’t get serious. But, he would always let them be.

One time before a game, Logan spoke to his team trying to bring intensity, but goalie Chase McElroy broke the ice.

“He said, ‘Why don’t we do what we also do? That’s what we like to do. We like to have fun,’” Logan said.

For the Blue Cheese, the fun started four months ago after a practice when they decided on their funny nickname. Afterward, assistant coach John Barrett brought the team’s mascot to practice. Back then, it was edible.

But on Sunday, it was meant to be in the ground. Still, the players on the Newport Beach 10-and-under boys’ team will always remember their blue cheese and how it was a weird, yet cool mascot to have throughout their tournament run.

In the five games of the Area Q regional tournament, that included Tustin, Irvine and Costa Mesa, the Blue Cheese scored 19 goals, six coming from the leg of Cecere, who was one of three Gold All-Stars on the team. Hanna, who scored five goals, and Danny Marshall were also Gold All-Stars.

“It was a great team,” said Farber’s mother, Bronwyn. “They just played so well together. It was great to watch.”

She said it was also fun to watch the kids enjoy the blue cheese. Sometimes each kid would sniff the cheese before the game.

“It was very upbeat,” Bronwyn Farber said. “There weren’t too many serious moments. One time one of the kids was singing during the game as he ran down the field.”

Aside from the humor, the Blue Cheese also had talent, as Farber, Casey (four goals in the tournament) and Walter Frome (two goals) were Silver All-Stars, selected by coaches from Region 57.

James Barrett and Remi Kassarjian scored one goal each during the Blue Cheese’s tournament run. Logan said the team’s defense sparked the success. Marshall, Robbie Farber, Beyrooty, Barrett and McElroy spearheaded the run with three shutouts and allowing just four goals in the five games.

Midfielders Gunnar Logan, Brad Lenell and Nick Sefarian also contributed, Logan said.

In the end, they were all there to bury their mascot. Their season has a chance to continue. Logan said he’ll soon find out if the team can qualify for the sectional tournament. But more than likely the Blue Cheese’s season is over.

Even without the Area Q title, the players will look back at the season with a smile.

The coach will be grinning, too.

“It’s been a great overall season,” Logan said. “The boys really came together as a team. One of the neat aspects was they were having a lot of fun, which is what you want in youth sports.”

Sometimes, a spoiled slab of cheese can be welcomed, too.