Seniors Claim Powder Puff Bragging Rights with 26-6 Victory
October 22, 2026
The senior girls used an explosive offense and a last-play defensive touchdown to claim a 26-6 victory over the juniors Thursday afternoon in Lake Catholic's annual Powder Puff football game at Osborne Family Field.
With beautiful fall weather providing the backdrop, a nice crowd of students, faculty, and staff gathered following an early dismissal to watch the return of the junior-senior showdown after a one-year absence.
The seniors relied on big plays to build their lead, with each of their three offensive touchdowns coming on plays of more than 50 yards.
Sydney Hill opened the scoring with a long touchdown to give the seniors a 6-0 advantage after the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Maddie Cox followed with another long touchdown, and Hill added the two-point conversion to extend the senior lead to 14-0.
The juniors, meanwhile, took a different approach to finding the end zone. Rather than relying on a big play, the Class of 2028 methodically marched down the field on a sustained scoring drive, capped by a touchdown from Macayla Costa. The two-point conversion attempt failed, cutting the senior advantage to 14-6.
Cox answered with her second touchdown of the afternoon, another play covering more than 50 yards, to push the senior lead to 20-6 following an unsuccessful conversion attempt.
But the seniors weren't quite finished.
On the final play of the game, Mary Thacker intercepted a junior pass and returned it for a touchdown, providing a fitting exclamation point on the Class of 2027's victory.
The game featured two 20-minute halves with a running clock, but there was no shortage of action or Cougar spirit.
Members of the Lake Catholic football team took on coaching responsibilities for both squads, while math teachers Vince Urankar and Steve Eppich traded their classrooms for the playing field to serve as officials.
The seniors also had to overcome the loss of Claire Gibbons, who exited with an injury midway through the first half. Both teams were without many of their varsity volleyball players, who sat out the contest ahead of Thursday's sectional final match.
More than just a football game, the afternoon marked the welcome return of a Lake Catholic tradition, bringing students together for some friendly competition and a little class rivalry.
And after 40 minutes of football, the Class of 2027 walked away with the win — and the Powder Puff bragging rights.
Beyond a Rivalry: Gilmour Honors the Legacy of Coach John Gibbons
September 14, 2026
As Lake Catholic head football coach Marty Gibbons prepared for kickoff Saturday afternoon, an unexpected visitor began walking across Osborne Family Field toward the Cougar sideline.
Gilmour Academy senior tight end and linebacker Bruno Cook was carrying a green flag. On it was a shamrock and three letters: JCG.
Cook approached Gibbons, who was putting on his headset before the game, and presented him with the flag.
“Coach Gibbons, we want to present this flag to you and your family in honor of your father,” Cook told him. “We want to thank you and your family for his impact on Ohio high school football.”
For a few moments, a game between two opponents became something much bigger than football.
The flag honored John Gibbons, the legendary Lake Catholic head football coach who passed away in April. His impact on generations of Cougars is woven throughout the history of Lake Catholic Athletics, but Saturday’s gesture was a reminder that his influence reached well beyond Bellflower and Reynolds roads.
For Marty, John’s youngest son, the presentation was completely unexpected.
“I don’t know if everyone in our family saw it happen, but those who did were in tears,” Marty said. “They all thought it was so cool and such a meaningful thing for Gilmour to do.”
The tribute was particularly meaningful on a day already filled with significance for the Lake Catholic community. Saturday marked just the third varsity football game played on Lake Catholic’s campus, with the Cougars and Lancers meeting on Osborne Family Field at The John Gibbons Outdoor Athletic Complex.
But before the competition began, Gilmour made sure there was time to recognize a man whose influence on high school football transcended school colors and sidelines.
“We recognize how competitive football can be, but it’s a giant community, and Gilmour is a great representative of that,” Marty said. “Catholic schools differentiate themselves with gestures like this.”
A few days later, Marty returned to Osborne Family Field with members of the Gibbons family and the flag Gilmour had presented. Joining him were John’s son-in-law, Matt Moran, and four of John’s grandchildren who currently attend Lake Catholic: Brady and Maggie Moran and Claire and Maddie Gibbons.
Together, they stood on the field holding a simple green flag that now carries a much larger story.
For the Gibbons family, it is a reminder of a husband, father, grandfather, and coach whose legacy continues to be felt. For Lake Catholic, it represents the impact one person can have on generations of young people. And for two schools that entered Saturday as competitors, it was a reminder that some things matter far more than the final score.
Some moments are bigger than football. This was one of them.
Football Comes Home: A Memorable Day on the Lake Catholic Campus
September 13, 2026
Cougars defeat Gilmour, 14–7, as students, families, alumni and friends gather for only the third varsity football game played on campus.
For only the third time in school history, varsity football took the field on the Lake Catholic campus Saturday, September 12 — and from the first tailgates of the morning to the final minutes of a dramatic Cougar victory, it was a day to remember.
Long before the noon kickoff against Gilmour, campus was already coming alive. Students, families, alumni, future Cougars, and friends filled the grounds for morning tailgating, food trucks, a Kids Zone, and plenty of opportunities to reconnect and celebrate together.
Even periods of rain couldn't dampen the atmosphere as a packed Lake Catholic campus turned an uncommon home football game into a celebration of the entire Cougar community.
And throughout the afternoon, the day provided plenty of opportunities to celebrate Lake Catholic's history.
Members of the Class of 1981 returned to campus as part of their 45th reunion weekend and were recognized during the game.
At halftime, following a performance by the Cougar Pride Marching Band, members of the 2001 State Championship Football Team took the field once again. Twenty-five years after capturing the state title, members of the championship team returned home to be recognized by the Lake Catholic community and celebrate one of the proudest moments in Cougar football history.
Then, the current Cougars added a memorable chapter of their own.
With the game tied late in the fourth quarter, Lake Catholic scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes remaining and held on to defeat Gilmour, 14–7, giving the home crowd one final reason to celebrate.
The victory provided a fitting finish to a day that was about much more than the final score.
Generations of Cougars came together on one campus — current students alongside alumni, young future Cougars alongside longtime members of the Lake Catholic community. They celebrated the school's history while creating a new memory that will become part of it.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, supported the event, and helped make September 12 such a memorable day at Lake Catholic.
There's no place like home.
New Spaces Bring Lake Catholic's Commitment to the Whole Person to Life
August 27, 2026
Each weekday morning, the entire school community gathers in the gym for prayer and the recitation of the school’s Mission Statement.
Most alumni and current students know the school’s Core Values.
But there’s a lesser-known Belief Statement that helped inspire three new and reimagined spaces in the school this year.
“We believe the education of our students includes the development of the whole person in a diverse world.”
The whole person.
As the school year begins, these spaces will serve to support Lake Catholic students in mind, body, and spirit.
“All of these new rooms are physical examples of how our faculty and staff sought to help students,” said Dean of Academics Jim Slike (’07), who worked alongside Assistant Principal of Academics Maghen Frindt to lead the redevelopment of the spaces.
“We were very deliberate with each of the spaces,” he said. “The work of our teachers and staff can continue in these provided rooms. The desire to help our students has always existed; we just had to provide the necessary resources for that to best take place – to provide spaces to help strengthen our students’ minds, bodies, and spirits.”
The whole person.
The Fiat Room
Fiat is Latin for “let it be done” or “let it be.” In Luke 1:38, Mary told the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum” — “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Located in the back of the St. Thomas Aquinas Learning Center, the Fiat Room is a space for student leaders and clubs to meet and plan, and for students in need of tutoring, study skills, and executive functioning skills to find that support.
In supporting students academically while also giving them opportunities to lead and collaborate, the Fiat Room is a space intentionally dedicated to strengthening the mind.
“It has recently been a place where our students could get extra help, where we housed our tutoring services and writing lab,” Slike said. “Now, those things are still available, but we’ve expanded the area for directed studies, as well as after-school, student-led activities and meetings.”
The Serenity Room
At the end of Main Hall, the Serenity Room is designed for students (and adults) in need of a space to recharge, reflect, and regulate.
“The conversation for a space like this started early last school year,” Slike said. “There was a need for a quiet space where students can safely go, still be monitored, but be in a soothing environment.”
“People have needed a space to take a moment and effectively regulate their nervous system across all times,” Frindt said. “The growing body of information from neurocognitive psychology has helped educators make decisions regarding our best practices. A space that allows students and adults alike to regulate their system is a best practice that Lake Catholic can now offer every student.”
The room was created largely with resources the school already had, along with a few new additions. Soft lighting, calming imagery, and intentional color choices help create a soothing environment, while peaceful music and video play in the background. The Serenity Prayer hangs prominently on the wall.
The space recognizes that educating the whole person also means caring for the body.
“There are other schools with spaces designed for similar reasons,” Frindt said. “While we are certainly inspired by other high schools as frontrunners, Lake Catholic is happy to present a version of this space that is uniquely Catholic in nature. We know that our God is a God of beauty; the design of this room is inspired by the Serenity Prayer and grounded in the beauty of God's nature.”
The Prayer Rooms
The three open rooms in the back-right corner of the Aquinas Center are dedicated to personal prayer during the day.
“The chapel isn’t always available to students during the school day, so these are separate rooms where they can go, dedicated to prayer and faith,” Slike said.
Together, the three rooms provide dedicated spaces to care for the spirit, giving students a quiet place to step away from the busyness of the school day and spend time in prayer.
Students are able to use the Prayer Rooms during their lunch periods or study halls.
The Prayer Rooms were funded in part by the Rooted in Faith Grant the school received last year from the Catholic Community Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the Diocese of Cleveland. The Lake Catholic Parent Association also provided financial support.
Individually, each space serves a different purpose. The Fiat Room provides resources for students to grow academically and as leaders. The Serenity Room gives them a place to pause, regulate, and care for their well-being. The Prayer Rooms offer quiet spaces to strengthen their faith and relationship with God.
Together, though, they represent something bigger.
They are spaces for the mind, body, and spirit — tangible reminders that educating students at Lake Catholic has never been limited to what happens inside a classroom.
Recent Posts
Discover Lake Catholic
Discover yourself, your faith, your future, your purpose. Become a member of the Lake Catholic Family.