Cardinal Hayes High School football team celebrates historic victory among city leaders
NEW YORK -
The journey of this local team is straight out of a Hollywood playbook—complete with a fairytale ending.
On Thursday, Bronx borough president Vanessa L. Gibson declared December 2, 'Cardinal Hayes Football Day' to mark the anniversary of when the Cardinals became the first team from New York City to win the coveted Catholic League High School State Championship.
The Cardinals went 2-8 last season and this year they finished 12-2. From playing all of their games on the road because their home field was unplayable to the coach’s office catching on fire in the middle of the season—the team beat the odds to pull off the unthinkable.
"We faced a lot of adversity this whole season and a lot of challenges, but we stayed resilient and we got the job done," said Student Body President and Senior Defensive End, Malik McFall. "After a tough last year, we learned our lessons. We put in a lot of work and dedication and now look at the outcome—and now we're the first team in history to win state."
The celebration at the Bronx Borough Hall included dinner, a certificate presentation and special guest speakers, including NFL great and former Jets running back Tony Richardson.
"It takes a village and it takes teamwork and it takes perseverance," said Richardson. And so I just wanted to say congratulations to these young men and their future is bright because you talk about having a bad day—they've had a lot of bad days, but yet still they overcame. They didn't give up and they just kept working toward their goal.
The team’s quarterback Rich Belin—who led his team to the ‘Chip with touchdowns through the air and on the ground—was named the league's best offensive player and was just named the Max Preps New York State Player of the Year.
"It's been unreal for me and my teammates," says the junior signal caller. "We've been celebrated by not only our schoolmates but as well as the entire Grand Concourse in the Bronx and New York City as a whole. So it's been unreal."
And the winning isn’t done just yet—Rich is also up for the prestigious Gatorade National Player of the Year award—which should be announced in early January.