The competition between the Foothills Composite High School Falcons and Holy Trinity Academy Knights is as fierce as you’ll find in high school football, off the field the rivalry manifests itself in a much more playful light.
Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) principal Carmen Ostafichuk and her counterpart at Foothills, Todd Schmekel, made a friendly agreement prior to the Sept. 16 football tilt between the schools at the Foothills Field.
“We worked together at the front gate to ensure safety and security at the game,” Ostafichuk said. “And I said ‘hey when we win, will you wear our jersey?’ and he said sure.”
Fortunately for Ostafichuk, the Knights notched an impressive comeback to beat the Falcons 14-10.
Schmekel fulfilled his obligations as per the agreement and sported the green and white Knights uniform at school on Sept. 19.
The victory over the crosstown rival was emblematic of the resurgence of the Knights football program, said Ostafichuk.
“It was wonderful,” she said. “I have worked since before Matt Hassett was the coach and at a time when our trombone player was also our quarterback. So our program has come a long way.”
Ostafichuk said the Knights have always been thought of as the proverbial little guy, but, with a student body numbering 800, that’s starting to change.
“We’ve never won on (Composite) property before so that was pretty historic,” she said.
