St. Brendan triumphs over Westland Hialeah en route to first ever district title

Queen’s “We Are The Champions” played on the PA system. The student section swayed as it sang along to the iconic chorus.

Then DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” started up, and the students began bobbing up and down to the song in celebration of their classmates.

Rounding out the winning playlist was Post Malone’s “Congratulations.”

Then fireworks erupted from behind and to the right of the far end zone.

St. Brendan quarterback Julian Fresen snapped the ball and pressed his knee into the turf of his home field. Sabres 14, Westland Hialeah Wildcats 12.

And with that, St. Brendan (5-2) became the District 15-2M champion Friday night, securing its first district title in the program’s second year as an FHSAA member program and fifth overall.

Students and faculty in the bleachers and on the sidelines cheered as the game clock winded down. “I can’t believe it,” several said, shaking their heads in disbelief as smiles spread across their faces.

“To me it brings the whole school together.” coach Steve Smith said while players were greeted by a swarm of fans outside the locker room. His reflective remarks occasionally had to compete against “woops” coming from the parking lot as the home crowd embraced his athletes.

“The spirit of the school, the camaraderie of the school. The kids here are great kids. Working here every day, it’s a blessing. ..And this just helps tighten bonds. Just the camaraderie to the school and to each other.”

Smith, who used to coach at Killian and Coral Park, joined the Sabres staff last year. He said he started out with nine players, and now has 57 on the roster. The squad finished 2-8 last year, and Friday night it made history.

“It’s a big thing for this program and for these kids,” he said. “The work that they’ve put in. I love that they were able to reap the benefit of the reward.”

Turnovers made the difference in the low scoring affair. Both St. Brendan’s touchdowns came off interceptions – one by two-way player Luis Lugo (ending a 22-minute scoring drought to open the game), and another by Pablo Peña when the Wildcats tried to throw on third and six from their own 7-yard line.

In addition to scoring points, the Sabres’ interceptions kept Westland points off the board. After the Wildcats scored their first touchdown (a 26-yard run by Antron Williams), St. Brendan’s Kevin White intercepted a two-point attempt that would have taken the lead.

The Sabres had another crucial two-point conversion stop on one of the last drives of the game, proving instrumental to Westland’s two-point loss. The Wildcats fell to 4-3.

“They just played hard every play,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t just one thing. The kids kept battling and battling.”

The win and district title serve as another encouraging sign that boys’ sports at St. Brendan are on the rise. The Sabres boys’ soccer team brought home a state title this past spring – just the second in any sport throughout school history (the first coming from the 1983 baseball team). Of the school’s approximate 1,200 students, about three quarters are girls.

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 11:58 PM.