Football team's success helps keep St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg open
FITCHBURG - They say football is a game of inches. For students, faculty and staff at St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg it's more like a lifeline.
"It was very dire. We were inches away from closure in June of 2019. We were told by (the Worcester Archdiocese) if our enrollment dropped below 100 students, they would have to close us instantly," Principal Linda Anderson told WBZ-TV.
And it did drop below 100, but one Hail Mary no one anticipated was a small group of football players. There are only 25 of them on the team. That's barely enough bodies to run a practice. "It was really hard and it felt like the whole pressure of the school was on us and we had to win," senior Antonio Mantini said.
They actually won two championships in three seasons including one undefeated season. Their victories rallied not just the school but the entire community. The school received an anonymous matching gift which helped bring in half a million dollars.
"We were the spirit of the school and just us keep on winning, keep on making it farther and farther, it really just got the enthusiasm of the school up, and it got people to want to donate," Mantini said.
Coach Tom Bingham said everybody rallied behind the team and began to fundraise for the school. The players, teachers, alumni and the community. "As a 100-year-old institution we are the core fabric of Fitchburg. This is our home and family that's where the fight came from," Principal Anderson said.
The story at St. Bernard's is now a documentary called All In - Miracle at St. Bernard's.
Coach Bingham says there are so many lessons to be learned but one specifically for the players he coaches. "That bad things happen and you are measured on how you respond to that," he told WBZ.
To date the school has raised more than $2.7 million and now has a five-year strategic game plan to not just keep it open but to thrive.
Principal Anderson says there's a lot to be said about faith, family and football. "It was right by the hair on our chinny, chin, chin. It was very close," she said, laughing.
But enough to get the ball past the goal line and keep the doors of this 100-year-old school open for years to come.