“The team is so small.” “You guys are gonna be so much worse than last year.” “Why would you even play football?” These are some common phrases heard in the hallways with regards to the St. Louis Priory School Varsity Football Team. Simply put, these assertions are utterly untrue. The real truth is that you are all weaklings that couldn’t handle playing football anyway, so we don’t want you! The Ravens look to prove the haters wrong this year and, while it may have taken a few weeks, we did just that last Saturday. Here’s a quick look at the what’s ahead as well as some games we’ve already played this year:
We started off the season with a tough home loss to Jefferson High School. And while it was by no means a good performance, we certainly learned a great deal that day. The game gave us a flavor for what the rest of the season was going to look like: not a lot of breaks, players starting both ways, and being completely out of gas in the 3rd and 4th quarters. After that game, we all faced a decision: to give up on the season because we simply don’t have enough players, or work with what we have and persevere. It was a no-brainer. We went into our week 2 game in Kansas City against Prairie View High School with a new attitude and a drive to succeed. We played hard for 4 quarters, but guys went down with injuries, and we lost by 2 scores.
However, it wasn’t a complete loss. We played hard on every snap and persevered through adversity until the final whistle. We realized that playing at a high level the entire game was indeed possible, and we went into week 3 with confidence in ourselves and our abilities. Last Saturday, we played our week 3 game at home against the infamous Lutheran South Lancers led by senior captain and quarterback Ben Long. After he broke free for a long touchdown early in the game, the birds kicked it into gear and dominated LuSo for the rest of the game. We entered the second half up by 1, and thanks to powerful performances in the trenches, we were able to shut them out in the second half, and win by a large margin. The final score: 42-13.
This week (for the first time in my high school football career), we have a bye week. The Mary Institute and Country Day School were simply too afraid to face the wrath of the dirty birds, so the game was regretfully canceled. BUT, we have games against familiar foes quickly approaching. Westminster (Sept 28, 1:00 pm @ Westminster) and Burroughs (Oct 5, 1:00 pm at home). It would be great to get some fans out to those, as they are critical for our district seeding.
While we still have about a month until Homecoming, I’ll say now that it’s not only VERY important that every single student be in attendance at that game, but it’s also a great time and something to do before the dance. That game will be played at 1p.m. on Oct. 19 against Principia. And to be blunt: we fancy our chances and the birds should have a field day.
Until then, your continued support is much appreciated and we look forward to winning more games very soon.
