You could say St. Mary’s nation was crushed this past weekend, when its 20-win high school baseball team fell short in Saturday’s state championship game at Polar Park.
That said, the girls flag football team eased some of the pain, capturing its own state championship, this one beneath the bright lights at Gillette Stadium.
And what a road it’s been the last two years.
St. Mary’s – which defeated Leominster, 18-13, to capture the gold – was one the first schools in the state to offer a girls flag football team.
“We would first like to thank the New England Patriots for selecting us two years ago as one the initial eight schools in Massachusetts to participate in the High School Flag Football League,” said St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall.
Talk about a wild, but successful ride. St. Mary’s went undefeated this season, going 19-0 in the regular season, followed by three more wins in the postseason.
“Fast forward two years, and with the tremendous work and dedication of coach Terrell Patterson, we have the top team in the state,” Newhall said. “They are all top-notch student-athletes who put aside a lot of other things over the past three months to be the best they can be.”
Now, with a championship under his belt, Patterson was able to reflect on the past few months.
“I thought the season went great, considering we were a smaller team with about 11 players and more than half of the team consisted of middle-school kids,” he said. “My expectations were to put together a team that’s going to go out, practice, and compete.”
Middle-schoolers make up most of the roster. Out of its 11 players, St. Mary’s returned four in Sophia Lafontant, Latisha Rivera, Kate Parada, and Sabina Domohowski.
Patterson talked about the team’s youth and loss of championship pedigree, compared to last season’s squad.
“Last season, we had seniors like Niya Morgen and Yirsy Queliz who had won state championships in basketball, and they brought that championship pedigree to the team and a level of maturity,” Patterson said. “As captains, there was a huge difference between last year and this year.”
St. Mary’s quarterback, Lafontant, competes with the United States U15 national team and was one of the key players this season. However, she had to miss games in the second half of the regular season to prepare for international games, meaning the team had to find a new gunslinger.
“My daughter, Kaileigh Patterson, had to fill in at quarterback the last seven games. To see her and the rest of the team step up and close out the season undefeated was great.”
Add tournament wins against Ayer-Shirley, Fitchburg and Leominster in the championship – plus a highlight-reel, one-handed catch from Lafontant-to-Kaileigh Patterson – and the title was headed back to Tremont Street.
Flag football is a fast-growing sport, and Patterson is grateful that St. Mary’s took the initiative to bring it alive.
“I can’t say enough how much I appreciate Jeff Newhall, Mr. (Jim) Ridley, and the rest of the school administration for taking a chance on a new sport that people were on the fence about,” Patterson said. “The sport is emerging, the sport is growing, and they believed in me and they believed that this is going to be a great sport for young girls at St. Mary’s to participate in and it’s creating a path for kids.”
But for St. Mary’s, starting a new program and finding success isn’t new.
“The success of our flag football team is another example of our school’s vision of continuing to offer new programming that gives our student-athletes the opportunity to compete,” Newhall said. “Our three newest programs that all started in the last four years – field hockey, crew, and flag football – have seen tremendous success in terms of participation and results.”
