Countdown to Kickoff: St. Patrick Fighting Irish

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - On Monday the St. Patrick Fighting Irish had a little extra pep in their step with kickoff for the opening game being just four days away.

“We’re all excited with a lot of energy out here at practice everyday and we’re ready,” said Thomas Salloum, Senior running back.

The quicker the 2022 season begins the quicker the Irish have the chance to flush the sour taste of 2021. St. Patrick recorded only one victory a year ago, but the lack of success on the scoreboard serves as a learning opportunity.

“We don’t want to take any losses again, we’re hungry, ready to beat every team we play and we’re going to play our hardest every single game,” said Breton Descher, Junior defensive end.

For the Irish to show improvement Coach Trey Bailey will depend on youth, 35 of St. Patrick’s 53 players are freshmen or sophomores.

“We had a good group of 9th graders last year, coupled with another good group of 9th graders and we’re very excited about where we are as a program,” said Bailey.

While the Irish have limited experience, St. Patrick does have returning playmakers in key positions.

“Otis Brooks is our quarterback, we have four returning starters up front and at the end of the day what we do up front will determine what we do as a team,” said Bailey.

The Irish will find out quickly how they stack up opening the season Friday at rival Resurrection.

“It’s always fun to play them, they’re going to be coached well, play hard and it’s going to be a tough test for us,” said Bailey.

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