Savoring victory

On Sunday afternoon Bomber fans assembled in the high school gym to celebrate the football team's Indiana State 2A Championship.  On Friday the Rensselaer Bombers defeated Evansville's Mater Dei 45 to 21. 

The camera on the right was that of WLFI, which had a story about the gathering on their evening news.

At 2:00 the team marched in two abreast with the front two bearing the very large state championship trophy. They circled the gym and then assembled at the north end of the gymnasium. The eleven seniors on the team were seated on the right, the coaches were on the left, and the freshmen, sophomore, and junior members of the team stood in the back. Below High School Principal Bill Zimmer is giving a short speech.

 He was followed by the athletic director, the eleven seniors, and the coaching staff. They recounted special moments of the season and thanked many people who helped them, emphasizing how important the fans were. (The Rensselaer game set a 2A attendance record and that was mostly due to the Rensselaer fans.) The final speaker was Coach Meeks. He also thanked numerous people and then pulled out different groups of players to give them recognition. The first group he recognized were the "yellow caps", mostly freshmen and sophomores who had to learn the formations and plays of the upcoming opponent so that the starters could practice against them. With eleven seniors graduating, many of whom played both offense and defense, many of the "yellow caps" will not be "yellow caps" next season.

 The group below was the offensive line. Many of Rensselaer's opponents had bigger linemen, but this group more than held their own.

The banners at the south end of the gymnasium show how successful the Rensselaer football team has been in the twenty first century. Only in 2007, 2011, and 2012 did they fail to win either a conference or sectional championship.

 And this year the team won the first ever state championship in any sport.

After some cheering, the people in the gym were invited to assemble again at the court house where the seniors led the crowd in some "Bomber Jacks."

Other football teams from northwestern Indiana did not fare as well at Lucas Stadium. Pioneer, Andrean, New Prairie, and LaPorte all lost their games. Rensselaer was one of three teams in the state to finish undefeated.

(According to this page that is linked by the ihsaa.org site, Rensselaer has the 15th best football team in Indiana and is ranked 573 nationally. For a school the size of Rensselaer, that is really, really good.)