This weekend in Holy Family sports, teams found themselves facing an opponent they’ve seen many times before. A team that we always, ALWAYS strive to crush. A team, that should never win. Mead. As a Tiger, it’s built into our DNA that we hate Mead. And I don’t truly know why we do so much. Maybe it’s “HoRnS uP!” Maybe it’s the private vs. public, farmer vs. preppy rivalry. Whatever it is, Mead is the one. And we got the chance to beat them, not once, not twice, but three times. And here’s how it went.

Volleyball: Our girls faced off against Mead for the second time this season, this time heading all the way down to Mead. The last time they played, the game went 5 sets, with Mead barely getting the victory. The girls won the first set of the night, and continued to play their hearts out, but came up a little short, losing the next 3 sets. Each set seemed promising for the Tigers, though they just couldn’t seem to put a stop to the Mavericks. However, the Tigers showed more pride than Mead did with their student section AT A HOME GAME AGAINST THIER RIVALS. There was maybe, MAYBE a few kids, most weren’t even participating in their theme. The Tigers just do it better in the student section and on the court, as the Holy Family girls bounced back to beat the Erie tigers 3-1 on their senior night. Good work girls!

Football: This is what we live for. Coach Gabriel started off the week retelling the history of Holy Family vs. Mead, telling us how we used to run it against Mead, then they started running it up against us. COVID season and a weird schedule led to a mixed up league, and the Tigers facing opponents outside of the normal (Lutheran is still recovering). But this season came, and so did the old league. Fredrick, and dreaded Mead, have returned. The Tigers faced off against the Mavericks at home, and though it was a hard fought battle, the boys came up short, losing 35-32. Now, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but we have to root for Fredrick to beat Mead, resulting in a three way tie for league, and maybe even a league title for the Tigers if it goes to points for and points against. Go Warriors! (Ew. Just doesn’t feel right.)

Softball: All we really have to say is HORNS DOWN! In the second round of the state playoffs on Friday, the Tigers beat the Mavericks 9-5 with Annika Manzanares hitting a two run double in the bottom of the sixth. It was expected to be a good game, “the championship before the championship”, and Mead just didn’t show up. Then the Tigers went on to win the state championship, beating D’Evelyn in the final game. This was the third championship in the past 4 years for the girls, meaning seniors Abby Edwards, Ava Kuszak, and Annika Manzanares are heading to college with 3 rings on their fingers. How many are the Mavericks walking away with??

Of course, we all know this is all fun games. Rivals are rivals because we push the other school, and we are always trying to be better than the other, improving our own game. So if anything, thank you Mead. We’ve enjoyed the wins.