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Emma Larkin

“I loved playing football the last four years at Saint Dominic. The memories and friends that I made over the last four years will last forever.” -Matthew Reid

The St. Dominic varsity football team had one of their best seasons yet. Though it didn’t end exactly how everyone wanted, the community can’t help but be proud of them. What they accomplished is not an easy feat, and fans hope to see more seasons like this in the future. 

With a record of 12-7, the boys fought hard every game and never gave up. Their winning attitude carried them throughout their season and made every Friday night worth the visit to Crusader Stadium. During the season the boys had many ups and downs including many injuries and even a four game losing streak. However, they made a quick turning point when they entered a winning streak of 5 games.  

“We’ve been fortunate to advance to the top 16 in state or higher for three consecutive years and 4 of the last 7 years because our team’s have bought into one simple goal of playing our best football in November. It’s a simple statement and goal, but what it means is that every day we are on that field, in the weight room or in the film room that season, we are getting 1% better as an individual and thus as a team.  If we do that, then by definition we will be playing our best in the postseason and be very hard to beat. That’s exactly what happened in 2022,” Varsity Head Coach Markway said. 

St. Dominic fans would pile in to see every game, ready to cheer and scream for our Crusaders. Led by our spirit captain Phillip Hartenbach, we had the best and biggest crowd in St. Dominic history. With many themes, noise makers and even baby powder on white out, spectators always made sure to bring the energy on Friday nights. 

“It was awesome and I am super lucky to have the opportunity to lead the student section as a whole. This year was especially special because they made it to the state championship, so we always had big crowds that got loud and I think the guys were able to feed off our energy at times. It always made Fridays even better because I knew that I got to lead the student section and watch the game.”  Phillip Hartenbach said. 

As the team began their postseason journey, it was clear that they had a mission. They faced Fort Zumwalt East in the district semifinal and trounced them in a whopping 41-0 victory. It was the good kickstart the team needed. The players carried that momentum into the district finals where they defeated Hazelwood East 31-12. For the second year in a row, St. Dominic captured the district championship, but they weren’t ready to step on the brakess just yet. 

“Their confidence grew, each really starting with the 2nd half of the MICDS game.  I think they believed we could play great defense, we just had to put all the pieces together and quit stopping ourselves on offense.  Each time we scored Week 9 and 11 (vs. Zumwalt East) that confidence started to build on both sides of the ball and then special teams started scoring as well and that’s when things really got fun for our team when all 3 phases were putting points on the board,” Coach Markway said.

The team faced Parkway Central in the quarterfinal game, and they didn’t have any problems as they defeated the Colts 29-0. Fortunately, St. Dominic had the chance to host the state semifinal match against West Plains, and it was a complete rout by the Crusaders, winning by a score of 42-14. 

“Watching our players run to the packed stands after the Final Four win vs. West Plains to advance to the state championship was an unbelievable feeling. It was great to know you reached the final game and to be able to share that with our community at home was pretty special,” Coach Markway said. 

The team unfortunately lost in the State Championship game against the St. Mary’s Dragons. That loss however, didn’t define the progress that this team had made all year. When the regular season started looking tough, the players were able to turn it around and make this season the most historic since the very start of the program. 

“It was night and day, and that’s the goal.  If you are the same team in November that you were in August, then that’s a very very bad thing and means we as coaches did a horrible job.  Our goal, every single season, is to “play our best ball in November.”  It’s a simple statement and goal, but what it means is that every day we are on that field, in the weight room or in the film room that season, we are getting 1% better as an individual and thus as a team.  If we do that, then by definition we will be playing our best in the postseason and be very hard to beat.  That’s exactly what happened in 2022,” Coach Markway said. 

We loved watching this team all season long and wish it never came to an end. This will definitely be a season talked about for years and we hope the program will continue on with their success the next few years.