Football

When the final whistle sounded at Archbishop Spalding on Nov. 14, the varsity football team roared in celebration and ran over to the fence to sing their final rendition of “Country Roads” to their fans. The men’s varsity football team was crowned the MIAA B Conference champions to end their perfect 12-0 season.

The men’s JV football team ended their season with a record of 1-5.

“To go undefeated was the main goal we had set in our minds and to accomplish that is not an easy task but we did it and I’m sure we will reflect on it all the time 30 years from now,” senior varsity quarterback and captain Kurt Rawlings said.

The varsity football team won the MIAA B Conference Championship against Archbishop Curley, 35-14. Senior varsity linebacker and captain Damon Lloyd attributes the team success to their team motto, “next play.”

“In the offseason, we all worked together and developed a strong chemistry that no other team could have. For every mistake [made], we would tell each other ‘next play’ and encourage each other,” Lloyd said.

According to head coach Keith Rawlings, the pressure for the team to be perfect didn’t really set in until the last game. “You go 11-0 and when you get to the championship game there’s a little bit of pressure because the 11 games you played prior don’t really mean a whole lot, so I think there was a little bit of pressure to get that last win because that’s the most important one,” Rawlings said.

Rawlings said the experience was amazing this year and the team really came together as a family.

Junior wide receiver Niko Rice said all the hard work they did in the offseason brought the team the championship.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to end the season like that with any other team,” Rice said.

Azanae Barrow is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.