St. Joseph’s Academy made program history last weekend when it finished second at the girls high school Midwest Championship. After two solid victories on Saturday, the Ohio state champion faced perennial force Divine Savior Holy Angels (Wisc.) in the title round. Although St. Joe’s fell 24-17, the team played incredibly well and was highly commended by Dashers coach John Klein (read more).

The weekend started against Indiana’s Warsaw, a state finalist the previous two years. St. Joe’s dominated in the 41-7 win, sending seniors Alex Strasser, Jackie Harter, Amanda Burns, Tayler Valentine, and Marie Kouns, and junior Rachael Kean over for tries.

The team was equally impressive in round two against Armstrong, which had eliminated Illinois state champ Plainfield from Cup contention with a 10-5 first-round victory. A defining moment occurred when three Armstrong players received yellow cards after a penalty try. It was a crippling blow for the Minnesota state champion, and one that helped St. Joseph’s to a 39-0 victory. The upperclassmen again weighed heavily in the win, as Harter, Burns, Valentine, and Kean dotted down, as well as senior Erin McGinty.

On Sunday, the most intimidating team in the Midwest – Divine Savior Holy Angels – awaited in the championship. The Wisconsin state champion had defeated Hudson (Ohio) 64-10 and Penn (Ind.) 39-5 on Saturday, and impressed with its quality of depth. St. Joseph’s made a valiant push, sending Kean, Kouns, Burns and junior Kerry Reddy over for scores, but DSHA did one try better in the 24-17 win. Kean and Valentine were honored as MVPs.

“All of the coaches are extremely proud of the team's performance this past weekend,” St. Joseph Academy coach Jaime Cleary indicated. “A second-place finish is very respectable and was hard fought. DSHA is the best competition this team has ever faced, and the Jaguars were able to hold their own.”

The community was abuzz with St. Joseph’s display of strength, and Klein confirmed that the Ohio side was worthy of another DI appearance at the national championship. Unfortunately, the team will not have the opportunity to field its best team against the rest of the country.

“Unfortunately the national championship is the same weekend as our school senior prom, so we will not have 11 players,” Cleary explained. “Because of this we have asked to participate in the DII bracket, but if we were at full strength we would definitely want to play for the top eight spots in the nation.”