Holy Family Catholic wins flag football title

Standing on the football field at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, Tom McAleavey watches as the boys on his Holy Family Catholic School varsity flag football team lift up their hard-fought championship trophy.

The 12-6 win over St. James — which handed Holy Family its only loss during a 5-1 regular season — gave McAleavey his first Catholic Youth Sports Championship since he had been at the school. After such a tumultuous year, it was everything he and his players could have imagined.

“It was a fun time,” McAleavey said. “The boys were so happy, and I was so proud of them to have stuck together. It was a great group of eighth-graders who led that team — our three captains were like coaches on the field all season — and I was so happy for them.”

Going into the game, which took place Friday, Jan. 15, the Lions — much like other teams in the league — had gone through the regular season with all the safety precautions that came with COVID-19. Coaches wore masks during the game, as did players when they were off the field.

Along with the safety precautions, the school also combined its junior varsity and varsity teams to form this one unit, but no one minded — they just wanted to play. 

“I have never coached any of these boys before — they weren’t the same grades as my older son — but from the very beginning, they were all so happy to just play any sport because so many seasons had been canceled since last March,” McAleavey said. “From the first week we got together in October, they asked me to practice longer, so we’d practice for an hour and to hour and a half — they were so enthusiastic all year.”

During the regular season, the Lions largely dominated, sans a 12-0 loss against St. James during which Holy Family was without two starters. They followed up that regular season by beating St. Margaret Mary 20-0 in the semifinals Sunday, Jan. 10.

With a berth in the championship game clinched, the excitement around the program grew, as the thought of playing under Friday night lights loomed large for this middle school team. The Lions practiced and prepared, and then came game day.

All Friday, it had been clear and sunny, but right as the first half kicked off, a torrent of rain and gusty wind spun up.

“It’s such a passing game normally, so it’s hard to adjust suddenly to pouring down rain, where it’s hard to hold onto the ball at all,” McAleavey said. “We had the ball first, so it jumped immediately to, ‘OK, we have to change what we’re going to do.’”

During the season, the Lions averaged more than 30 points per game, but because of the weather, the championship game became a grinding affair. Holy Family picked up its first score on a long run by Lions quarterback Brockton Faddis. St. James tied the game, but a big passing play from Faddis to Ivan Taylor just before the break put the Lions up 12-6.

The second half proved to be difficult for both offenses, but it was the Holy Family defense that proved to be the ultimate game-changer. It forced two picks — including an athletic, game-sealing interception by Taylor at the Lions’ own 5-yard line with a minute left in the game.

With his first trophy in hand, McAleavey looks back on this season with appreciation, especially for the student-athletes on his team.

“They were such a treat,” McAleavey said. “This is like the sixth or seventh team I’ve coached at Holy Family for flag football, and it was definitely the most enjoyable and satisfying season, and it really was because the boys had such a great attitude.”