St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes and Bishop Ireton School have always had a heated rivalry in several sports for a long time. Coming up on the football season for both schools, the anticipated matchup of these two teams is making fans excited for the future of their school’s team.
The Saints came out on top 20-10 in the highly anticipated matchup. The loss was the first for BI after two victories under former Saints coach Bernard Joseph.
Three players from the team talked about the game, Langston Banks, Sebbie Vargas, and Gabe Murphy; all of them are juniors. All three of these players got playing time in the game against BI.
Langston Banks ‘26 has played football since his freshman year at SSSAS as a defensive end. Langston was asked several questions about the game. “There were a lot of people at the game, there was a lot of chatter from both sides. The atmosphere was a little nerve-wracking at the beginning, but I think we all got it together in the end… as you can see with the scoreboard,” he said about the experience at BI. When asked about the rivalry between St Stephens and BI he said, “I would definitely say they are, either them or Episcopal. We definitely knew how big of a game this was and we practiced really hard this week.” He also recalled from the game, “My favorite memory from the game was definitely after, after we high-fived Bishop Ireton, we like I guess just celebrated with the team and took photos. That was probably my favorite moment was after the win.”
Another player I interviewed was Sebbie Vargas ‘26, the varsity team’s Center. “My favorite part about being center would probably be commanding the offensive line.” This was his second year playing football and his first year on varsity, and he loved the experience at the game. “I’d say it was definitely very loud, their student section was yelling the entire time and a lot of their players were talking a lot before and during the game. Being there was a lot of fun.” Sebbie also said, “I just loved the experience of our team being there locked in together and being unafraid.” This was not his first time encountering Bishop Ireton having experience playing that team before in previous years on the team. “They are really the only team that has talked the most trash to us.” The first time being on varsity was already an adventure for him and he shared with me one of his favorite memories, “I’d say my favorite experience from the game was my pancake I had in the first quarter and it’s my first one of the season and it was a happy moment for me.” A pancake is when the lineman pushes the ball carrier to the point that they are lying on their back. Sebbie had a great game and is loving being on the varsity squad.
Gabe Murphy ‘26, who is a wide receiver and free safety for the football team said this about the game, “…my favorite part about it [playing receiver] is, catching the ball and trying to score a touchdown.” “It was definitely a cool experience because there were a lot of people there,” he said, “… I’m just really glad that we got the win, and we got our get back.” I asked Gabe if he thought that BI was his biggest rival and he said, “Yeah, for sure, I know a lot of people that go there, and they were talking a lot, so I’m glad that we got that win.” Gabe and the whole football team had a lot of memories from the game. “My favorite memory, I didn’t do it, but it was when Loui handed the ball to coach Joe at the end of the game.”
