25 Teams in 25 Days: St. Patrick Fighting Irish
Over at St. Patrick, the Fighting Irish had their normal Friday practice plus picture day as opposed to risking injury during a jamboree.
Smart move as Head Coach Jim Bloomfield is working with a roster of less than 30 players who finally know what it is like to taste victory after going along two years without it.
Head Coach Jim Bloomfield said, “I don’t ever put a number on it but we’d like to have a winning season, we’d like to make the playoffs and do those kinds of things. It’d be important for our program.” That’s the wish list for the first St. Patrick team in three years to break ground on a new campaign without the added pressure of coming off a winless season. Wide receiver/cornerback/kicker Chris Collins said, “Most people know, like two years ago we were not winning any games. Last year, we just broke the losing streak.”
“It just builds confidence in the fact that you know you can compete.”
The Fighting Irish kicked off 2017 in a low place, riding a 22 game skid which got as high as 23 before finally winning for the first time in more than 34 months on September 1st. “Yeah, it was really good. It felt like a breath of fresh air for the whole school, you know?”
Wide receiver/defensive end Presley Harrison said, “That win was a pretty big deal for us. It was the first win in two years, and it was just a big boost of confidence for us. It was just how many more can we get, how long can we hold on to it? And coming into this season it’s the same thing, it’s how many can we get and how long can we hold on to them?”
Those are the burning questions on the collective mind of the Irish who enter 2018 with a 28 man roster, comprised of just four seniors, but a heavy influx of freshman that went undefeated in junior high. “They’re going to have to play a lot. I mean one thing about it, if you get to play at St. Patrick you get to play a lot.”
“A lot of the new players that we have are just going to play a key role in this year, and I think we’ll be better than last year.”
Running back/Linebacker Bricen Rivers said,”I want to build a foundation for the younger kids to come in, and they’re going to have to contribute so they’re going to be part of it.”
Together that mix of new school and old school is ready to put on for its school with the Irish no longer in need of as much luck as they used to be. “Most excited just to get out there and hit somebody, just win some football games.”
“Well, it’s just exciting because I have 28 kids that have a heart as big as the state of Mississippi, when other kids won’t play or choose not to out of fear or out of whatever, I have 28 kids that want to be out here and I’m proud of them and I’m going to do everything I can to help them.”
The Irish kick off their 2018 slate on August 17th against visiting Snook Christian Academy out of Foley, Alabama.
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