St. Paul’s senior members of the football team prepare to embark on their final season. (photo by Joey Michel)

(COVINGTON, La.) – Tonight, St. Paul’s School is set to begin a new football season with another district championship and a deep playoff run on their minds. Even though the Wolves have struggled in the playoffs the past three years, they have the makings of a great season.

Starting quarterback, Ryan O’Krepki (photo by Joey Michel)

Senior starting quarterback Ryan O’Krepki has his eyes set to “make a deep playoff run and get our jug back from Covington High.”

The Brown Jug is a trophy given to the winner of the yearly football game between SPS and Covington High for the past 80 years. After controlling the jug for many years, SPS lost to Covington last year by a score of 38-7. This year, Covington lost many offensive weapons and some great defensive players, giving SPS a great chance to win the jug back.

Senior wide receiver Jalen McCleskey echos O’Krepki’s predictions for a healthy season.

Starting wide receiver, Jalen McCleskey (photo by Joey Michel)

“I think that we will do well. We have worked all off-season, and we played well against John Curtis,” McCleskey said regarding last week’s scrimmage.

Although only beginning the season with tonight’s jamboree, the senior football players are already thinking of their impending final memories at SPS and their last season in a St. Paul’s football uniform.

“I’m going to miss it for sure. I was fortunate enough to experience Friday nights in Hunter Stadium as a sophomore, and there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s something that I’ll never forget,” said O’Krepki.

“It’s sad, but I know that there’s better things to come. I’ll always remember playing in Hunter Stadium and all the memories with my teammates,” McCleskey added.

Many SPS seniors have dreams of beating Mandeville or Jesuit in their respective sports, but these seniors want to beat Covington. Returning the jug to St.Paul’s School is one of the major goals on the minds of all the seniors, and the team as a whole.

Replicas of the brown jug that each represent a past win against Covington High fill Coach Sears’ office. (photo by Christi Simoneaux)

“We need to bring the jug back where it belongs,” O’Krepki said.

“They beat us last year, and I want to quiet them up,” McCleskey added

Since the Covington match-up will not happen until late October, the team has most of the season to prepare, beginning with tonight’s jamboree. The team encourages the St. Paul’s community to come out tonight to support the various SPS football teams as they play the Archbishop Rummel Raiders for the Christian Brothers Jamboree, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Hunter Stadium.

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