Page 149 - Bellfort Magazine 2025

Year 8 and 9 Football Teams

Football practice for Year 8 & 9 players attracted large numbers each week, with a squad of sixteen
players first selected to represent Dunclug in a friendly match against Cullybackey College to begin
the season in early September. The annual 7 a-side ‘blitz’ tournaments took place at Parkhall
Integrated College, when two teams from our school participated, respectively, in separate Year 8
and Year 9 events, providing considerable game time for all of the players involved. An early Year 8
NI Cup fixture away to Sperrin Integrated College provided the team with their first huge test of the
year, and faced with harsh weather conditions, they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat. Despite this set
back, the team put to bed their NI cup exit by comfortably beating local neighbours, St Patrick’s
College, in the Mid-Antrim Cup competition, to progress to the quarter finals. The players faced a
much stiffer challenge when they travelled to Belfast to face the Boys’ Model but showed great
character and resilience to come from behind twice, to register a fantastic 4-2 win. This result
served to highlight the continued strides the Year 8 team was making, with the team captained by
Maxwell McDowell, putting in an outstanding performance, together with Mason Surgeoner and
Josh Carson, to help secure such a notable win.

The Year 9 team began their local cup campaign away to Cullybackey College securing a win to
progress to the next round. Mason McDowell and Robbie Montgomery displayed their considerable
playing ability to contribute significantly to the win. A further outstanding performance was
demonstrated by the same team against Slemish Integrated College to continue their progress in the
same competition.

The Year 8 team, having been knocked out during the first round of the NI Cup, faced Crumlin
Integrated College in the NI plate competition, but despite coming from behind on no less than
three occasions during the game, Crumlin scored a decisive last-minute winner. After the Christmas
break, the same team encountered Crumlin again in a Mid-Antrim cup quarter final fixture which,
once again, provided an end-to-end contest. Unfortunately, Dunclug lost out 4-2 on this occasion,
bringing an end to their involvement in this competition. Despite the cup exit, there was no time for
the players involved to dwell on their sorrows, as the Belfast Boys’ Model made a visit to the
Ballymena Showgrounds only days later. This time, a resurgent Boys’ Model team, hoping to take
avenge for the shock defeat they had previously suffered, came on strong and threw everything at
Blake Campton in the Dunclug net, but he stood firm and produced a truly inspired performance.
Jake McNeilly and Mason Buxton played exceptionally well in defence, and Mason Surgeoner
continued his goal scoring form, to help secure a 2-0 win for the school, achieving the honour of
becoming one of the first sides from Ballymena to inflect a double defeat, in the same season, over
the Boys Model. Unfortunately for our Year 9 team, the Boys’ Model got their own back by doing
the ‘double’ over them, in two corresponding fixtures.

The respective Year 8 and Year 9 league ‘blitz’ competitions did not go to plan for either of these
year groups, despite both teams achieving notable league wins during the season against local
school opposition. The Year 8 team made the journey back down the M2 to face Hazelwood
Integrated College, securing a win on that occasion, but a defeat at the hands of Ballyclare
Secondary School ended their involvement in all competitions. Nevertheless, the overall team, and
individual players, have made an excellent start in terms of the football experience they gained this
year, and the future looks bright for continued success. The Year 9 team comfortably beat St Killian’s
College in the semi-final of the Mid-Antrim cup competition, before losing out 3-0 to an
exceptionally strong team from Cambridge House Grammar in the final itself, in a game staged at
the Ballymena Showgrounds.