ST SEBASTIAN’S

ATHLETICS
FALL SPORTS
Arrows in Action
A complete review of the 2012 varsity football, soccer, and cross
country seasons.
Coach Dan Burke
Varsity Football
The 2012 Arrows football season began
with high hopes and expectations.
Coming off of a 6-2 2011 campaign
and returning several experienced and
talented players, the Arrows felt that this
was their year to earn St. Sebastian’s a
seventh ISL football championship. Long
before this season began, hard work,
inspiration, and unity of purpose laid
the groundwork for what turned into
Coach Souza’s best record in his 35 years
of coaching. Last year after a tough loss
that left the Arrows with a 2-2 record,
instead of dwelling on the misfortune,
team captain Jack Connolly ’12 sent out
a message to the team that they needed
to focus on not losing another game
from that point until the end of the 2012
season. While only intending to motivate,
Jack also prognosticated the results of
the second half of last season and the
entirety of this season. The focus and
motivation that last year’s senior class
helped to provide carried through the
end of the 2011 season, and from that
point on the 2012 senior class took over.
From captain organized workout sessions
to 7 on 7 leagues over the summer to
intensely determined preparation during
preseason, the 2012 Arrows football team
put themselves in a position to record the
program’s first undefeated regular season
since 1994. The road to the perfect record
was by no means an easy one, but the
composure and will of the entire team,
especially the senior class, gave the Arrows
an edge in every game as they never
panicked when faced with adversity. They
knew that this was their season, and they
were not going to let any team or play stop
them from achieving their goal.
After a successful preseason, the
Arrows were eager to put all of their hard
work and preparation to the test when
they began the regular season with a game
against Nobles. On their first drive of the
game after a 40 yard run by running back
Brendan Daly ’13 put the Arrows on the
Nobles five yard line, captain Patrick Healy
’13 finished off the drive with a one yard
plunge across the end zone. The Arrows’
defense set the tone well for the season in
their first series of the regular season when
they forced Nobles into a three and out,
giving the Arrows great field position for
their second offensive possession. Running
back Conor Hilton ’13 scored on a nine
yard touchdown run to finish this drive,
and the Arrows took a 14-0 lead into the
second quarter. While certainly a team
built for long offensive drives, the Arrows
showed how explosive they could be on
their next three possessions when receiver
Brian O’Malley ’13 tipped a pass to himself
from Patrick Healy and ran 47 yards for a
touchdown, running back Connor Strachan
’14 broke out for a 39 yard touchdown run,
and Brendan Daly burst through multiple
defenders on his way to a 25 yard scamper
into the end zone. The Arrows’ defense
yielded one score to Nobles in the first
half, but the offense responded well when
Conor Hilton turned a catch on a five yard
out into a highlight reel, zigzagging 46 yard
touchdown, leaving the Arrows with a
50 | ST. SEBASTIAN’S MAGAZINE Volume VIII, Issue I