Page 124 - Bellfort Magazine 2024

The sporting year ‘kicked off’ with a series of Football ‘blitzes’ being held for different year
groups at Parkhall College, bringing together a large number of teams in the Mid-Antrim
Association on different occasions. The first series of blitzes was based on teams playing 7-a-
side, allowing most schools to enter two teams and giving players plenty of game time. The Year
10 ‘A’ team manged to reach the semi-final stages of the competition, having remained
unbeaten during the group stages, but lost to Parkhall College, the eventual winners of the
competition.
During the second term, the playing format changed to allow for full-sized games and teams also
engaged in their respective cup competitions. The Year 9 team played against Cullybackey
College and suffered a 5-2 loss, despite strong showings from several individual players,
including Lukas Stephan, Lewis Smyth and Curtis Holmes. These three boys also had the
experience of playing in the Year 10 football team.
The Year 8 team showed great promise this year. Unfortunately, they suffered the misfortune of
losing out to Cambridge House in the final of the Under 12 Mid-Antrim Schools’ Cup, in a game
settled by penalty kicks. Mason McDowell captained the team, who also had the experience of
playing for the Year 9 team, alongside Robbie Montgomery, This was a just reward for both
boys, in full recognition of their respective goalscoring exploits and strong defensive displays.
Adam Nelson was also a very prominent player for the team and his level of individual skill
stood out in a number of matches during the season.

Cuchulainn Cup Project - Boys in Year 10 and Year 11 had the opportunity to engage in the
Cuchulainn Cup project, a cross-community initiative which brought pupils together from
different schools and backgrounds to develop their skills in the non-traditional sports of Gaelic
Football and Hurling. Regular training sessions took place in both sports, with pupils from
Dunclug College engaging with their counterparts from the other two schools involved in the
project, namely St. Patrick’s College and Slemish College. A team from the town of Ballymena
took part the Ulster final, staged at the Meadowbank Arena in Magherafelt, when several other
provincial towns were represented. Both sports featured on the day and the Ballymena team
fully excelled by winning the Cuchulainn Cup for the first-ever time since the school became
involved in this worthy project. As a result, the Ulster GAA extended an invitation to the
‘Ballymena Cuchulainns’ to represent Ulster in the Northern GAA Games which took place in
Manchester in June 2024.
On this occasion, six boys represented Dunclug College to travel to the competition, together
with the same number of pupils from St. Patrick’s College. The itinerary for the trip not only
involved the chance for the team to play against opposition from both Northern England and
Scotland, but also included a trip to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, ten-pin
bowling and a visit to the Trafford Shopping Centre. The team also travelled in style on a luxury
coach used more often by VIPs and Premiership football teams. The team excelled by winning
the Under 15 ‘Shield’ final at the Northern Games, after progressing from the group stages with
only a single loss in all four matches played, with Alex Houston scoring the vital goal in the final
itself. It really was a fantastic experience for all the boys who engaged in the whole initiative,
with new friendships and life-long memories made.