UPDATE: On Friday, Oct. 27, Bellarmine lost to Puyallup, allowing the Vikings to remain undefeated in the 4A South Puget Sound League. The Lions will play a consolation game at home on Friday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. against Kennedy Catholic.

The Bellarmine varsity football team, coached by Brian Jensen, began the season on a strong note, with decisive wins against South Puget Sound League rivals. Despite a disappointing loss against Olympia on the first game on the new turf field, the team bounced back the following week against Emerald Ridge with a 34-0 victory. On Sept. 29, Bellarmine beat cross town rivals, Curtis, 34-25. They played South Kitsap on Oct. 6, securing a victory there as well. The televised game on Oct. 13 against Sumner was a tough loss. The last two games of the regular season are against powerhouses, Graham Kapowsin and Puyallup.

Unlike last year, the SPSL will take the four top teams instead of five to post-season play, so the Lions have their work cut out for them these next two Fridays. However, the team is not deterred. Captains Sam Behnke, Christian Brown, Chase Chandler and Josh Hanigan, despite injuries, hope to lead the team to more games next month.

Other teammates are optimistic as well. When asked what he thought about their current progress in the season, Tim Jensen, junior, said, “It’s going good. I’d say that it shows the preparation we put in Monday through Thursday.”

Fellow teammate Anthony Christopher, senior, expressed similar thoughts, “We’ve been working really hard and we’ve been playing for one another. We’ve been having a lot of fun. However, Christopher acknowledges that this Friday night’s game is significant. “Our biggest rival would be GK.”

Sophomore Josiah Nikolao said, “The season is going great. We’re really coming together as a team even with the new coaches. They’re really fitting in with us.” He continued, “As sophomores, one of our goals is to beat the age. Even as young’uns we can still show these upperclassmen what we can do.”

Nikolao also enjoys the new surface of Memorial Field. “I love the new turf. It’s so great, but it gets really hot. Overall, it’s a great thing to have especially for the seniors. They can leave knowing that they had a lot of memories on that field.”