Bears rolling along to NOSSA game

BY SCOTT HADDOW

Love them or hate them, the St. Benedict Bears senior boys' football team has to be respected. They repeated as city champions recently, which is a hard feat to accomplish, especially at the high school level.

Many hoped the Bears were going to be weak competition this season. Many hoped to slap the Bears around the football fields in 2007. The Bears had been hit hard by the graduation losses of numerous key players. They only returned one all-star from last year's squad. Yet, despite playing arguably the toughest schedule, St. Benedict went out, game after game and produced another stellar season.

The school has less than 600 kids to draw from. To field a competitive squad, it takes about 50 kids. St. Benedict has no problem achieving this thanks to the willingness of the student population. The kids love the fact they're getting some big time recognition after back-to-back titles.

The team and program has come a long way in recent years. Just four seasons ago, the Bears were taking it on the chin around town, losing games by outrageous scores such as 56-0. They were at the bottom for a while, but are now on top and they deserve to enjoy it.

It will be interesting to see these lads take on the Sault Ste. Marie representative this upcoming Saturday. The Bears were skinned alive last year in Sault Ste. Marie, losing 73-0 to St. Mary's. The Bears get their shot at revenge this year as St. Mary's has once again advanced to the NOSSA semifinal.