DeMatha Varsity Football Mid-Season Review

When people think of DeMatha the first thing that comes to mind for most is sports, especially football and basketball. With this renown comes many expectations to win championships and be nationally ranked. The Stags football team handles these expectations very well; the 24 WCAC championships speak for themselves. The success doesn’t just stop there, with many players moving on to play college football on all levels.  

This season for the Stags has been no different. The DeMatha varsity football team has finished the first stretch of the ’22-’23 campaign 4-1 and ranked #35 in the country according to MaxPreps. Through their first five games the Stags have dominated, outscoring opponents 132-11 and shutting out their last four opponents. In week one the Stags traveled to South Florida and took on the #25 ranked Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs. The Stags lost a close one, 11-6. While it was a loss it was a good measuring point for what the stags needed to improve on both offensively and defensively. And they did just that, beating Rock Creek Christian Academy the next week 26-0. In the stags’ next three games they went on to beat Benedictine (OH), Friendship Collegiate Academy and Life Christian Academy (VA) in the same manner.

Going into week 6, Sophomore Corner Devon Bertrand states that the team “feels that we’re on the right track now that we currently have a four game winning streak.” When asked about the upcoming conference play he believes “going into conference play we now have to step up our game and finish the season. …we don’t want to go home early like we did last year.” Confidence is one of the most important things to have in sports, and the Stags football team has just that. Sophomore Wide Receiver Vincent Ordenes says that the team has the “confidence going into these games, no team really matches are personnel and the guys we have. We are simply just better. … there’s no question that the championship is coming back to Madison Street.”

This week the Stags will be traveling to I Street to take on DeMatha’s biggest rival, the Eagles of Gonzaga under the lights at 6:30. This will be the Stags first WCAC game with playoff implications on the line. The Stags will then finish up the season against Bishop McNamara, St. John’s, Clarkson North (AK), and will look to get revenge against Our Lady of Good Counse,l who knocked them out of the semifinals last year in a close 15-17 loss.