BELLEVUE, Ky. – Winners never quit. Quitters never win.
Aaron Vogt and the other seniors on the Bellevue High School football team never gave up on their football dreams until they were forced into it last week.
They and their teammates came out on the positive side of the scoreboard one last time on Friday night after winning a game at their home, Gilligan Stadium.
They capitalized on their chance with a 22-14 scoreboard win. The Bellevue Tigers played a flag football match against a team of adults from the community, including members of the Bellevue Police Department, city government, and local business representatives.
The game was a fun relief for high school players, who abruptly had the remainder of their college season canceled last week after a series of injuries left them with 15 players available. The team had lost all seven games by lopsided margins.
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The program is known for winning state championships in 1977 and 1979 and had four consecutive winning seasons from 2010 to 2014 when that year’s seniors were in elementary school.
“I just knew I had to do this for my city,” Vogt said. “I had to do this for Bellevue. I know I’m not the best football player here. I know I won’t go to DI or get a crazy athletic scholarship. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I want to do this for Bellevue. I knew I couldn’t abandon my team because I didn’t want anyone to abandon this town. This city deserves a football team and the culture it brings.
The idea for a flag football game came from the Bellevue Police Chief
The day after the school administration announced the cancellation, Bellevue City Police Chief Jon McClain approached the administration with the idea of having a flag-matching match. soccer.
“We asked the team at our senior dinner, and they were all on board,” Bellevue athletic director Jim Hicks said. “I don’t think they knew what they were getting into. Some of the comments were, “I can’t believe these guys are so fast.” But they had a great time. Everyone participated; they did it. It was great to see the support given to these children.
The Bellevue players were led by freshmen Tristan Woodyard and Jordan Pendleton, who played quarterback. Woodyard was the starting QB during the season and Pendleton was the running leader.
Their adult team counterpart, called The First Responders, was Trevor Stellman, a former Conner High School standout quarterback and former Thomas More University head coach. Stellman, who works with the school district, was recruited for the game by Bellevue baseball head coach Rob Sanders, who coached Stellman in high school football.
Stellman made the Tigers defense work with several long bombs that mostly fell incomplete, but the Tigers, with the help of the occasional timely penalty call, came out on top with their own big plays.
Pendleton intercepted Stellman and ran untouched for a 50+ yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first half.
Bellevue’s second touchdown was entirely senior, with Ethan Noonchester catching a touchdown pass and Steven Meyers catching a pass for a two-point conversion that kept the Tigers at 16-14.
Pendleton scored again on a receiving touchdown and senior Keegan Rizzo intercepted a pass late in the game to hold off first responders.
“To be able to play with all these freshmen, and to be able to coach them and help them out, is really something memorable,” Noonchester said. “It sucks that our season was canceled but I’m glad the community came out and gave us one last game.
The other seniors were Vogt, TJ Southwick, John Stiner, Chandler Campbell and James Long. Long was injured but came out for a game. Noonchester said he tried to return the ball to him for a TD on his score but couldn’t.
The seniors admitted that losing every game gave them some of the biggest struggles they have ever had.
“I felt a lot freer (tonight),” Noonchester said. “During the games it was really stressful, especially since the scoreboard was so far away for most of the game. It was good to have a close game and to be able to contribute.
Vogt said he wrote his college essay about the team’s struggles.
“Come here and lose every week. It sucked,” he said. “It was probably one of my worst experiences because you take hit after hit, loss after loss. It’s one of the worst feelings to go to the school on Monday and feeling like you let everyone down. And they tell you that you let them down. It’s not a good feeling, but it made us all so much harder. We know how to fight adversity now.
Bellevue players hope event can bring excitement to 2023 season
High school players will consider this an even bigger win if they can adapt for real next fall, and they hope the excitement for the event continues.
“We had to fight every practice, every game,” Vogt said. “When you only have 19 guys there it’s tough. I’m so glad we have this community and I hope tonight isn’t the end of that spirit. I hope it continues next season. I think we need more numbers next year, more people. We have a good coach, we have good athletes and they are going to be great.
For seniors, there are still plenty of high school memories to acquire. Several members of the team will practice other sports during the year.
And they’ll have an added appreciation for their hometown pride.
“This is my home,” Vogt said. “You know everyone here. Everyone knows everyone. You can greet everyone on the street. I really like it here.”
