Football teams vie for traveling trophy

By John Gleason

For the Holy Family Tigers and the Bishop Machebeuf Buffaloes, the final football game of the season has special meaning.  The teams, both with 5-4 records, squared off against each other Nov. 1, with the winner taking home the coveted Loretto Trophy.

The trophy and the rivalry that goes with it, dates back to the early 1960s when the two football teams first played each other, according to Holy Family Development Director Patty Gabriel.

“After Bishop Machebeuf High School was opened and the two teams began competing in sports, the idea was raised about having the two football teams compete for a traveling trophy,” Gabriel said.  “One was purchased by the 1962 graduating class from both high schools and christened the Loretto Trophy in honor of the Sisters of Loretto, the order that founded both schools.”

That first year Holy Family won the trophy, but Bishop Machebeuf came right back the following season to win it back.  The teams continued to play against each other until 1968 when the parochial league was disbanded. They didn’t play again until four years later when both schools joined the Metro League in 1972. But by that time the trophy had gone missing.  Not wanting to see a tradition fall to the wayside, both schools chipped in to purchase a new trophy that went back between the two schools. For the past several years the trophy has been in the keeping of Holy Family.  But there is more to the story, and the trophy.

In 2000 when Bishop Machebeuf High School relocated to the site of the old Lowry Air Force Base, many records and other school artifacts, some which had been boxed up for years, were moved to the new facility and stowed away.  Recently, while sorting through the stuff, Athletic Director Hans Bihr came across the original trophy.

“There it was in the back of a closest stuffed in the bottom of a box,” Bihr said.  “No one knows how it got there.  It was scuffed up and missing some pieces but otherwise in good shape.”

Bihr talked with the people at Holy Family about his discovery and it was decided that both trophies should be present at this year’s game with the winner to take care of both trophies until next year.

For members of the winning team, a trophy is something to be proud of, but this trophy stands for more than just bragging rights—it also represents the two teams shared Catholic faith. After the game is over both squads come together in the middle of the field and pray.  It’s a solemn moment that makes an impression on the young men of both squads.

For Holy Family senior Dustin Johanssen, 17, playing football has helped him grow as a person; developing confidence and learning to work with others.  But, when the athletes come together and pray, it reminds him of the bigger picture.

“Before the game I see an opponent across the field,” he said.  “But when it’s over, I come together with other children of God to give thanks for what we’ve both been blessed with.”

Machebeuf senior Alex Willis, 17, who also brings to a close his high school career with this game, shared the same sentiment.

“Don’t kid yourself—both sides go out there looking for a win; not wanting to leave anything when the game is over,” Willis said.  “Football helps character grow, but playing for a Catholic school gives us more. When we pray next to guys in different uniforms it isn’t just a show of sportsmanship.  It’s a sign of unity in God’s name.”

Both the Tigers and the Buffaloes were looking to cap off their respective seasons with a win and in a hard fought game that came down to the final minutes, Holy Family defeated  Bishop Machebeuf by a score of 20-17.  Both Loretto trophies were then presented to the Tigers by Machebeuf principal Jessie Skipwith. Following a brief photo session the two teams joined each other at center field to give thanks to God for their many blessings.