St. Xavier High School football team to play against Loyola Academy on ESPN next month

FRIDAY EVENING. SURE ASHLEY. ALL RIGHT, KEVIN. THKAN YOU OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND EXCDIEENG EXPECTATIONS. THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT ONE FRESHMAN ATAI SNTS HIGH SCHOOL IS DOING THIS YEAR ANDREW GILLESPIE IS BLIND, BUT HE IS NOT LETTING HIS CONDITION. STOP THE MUSIC. THAT’S RIGHT. ANDREW HAS BEEN BLINDLL A OF HIS LIFE, BUT WHEN HE GOT TO HIGH SCHOOL HE DECIDED HE WOULD NOT LET WHAT HE COULDN’T SEE STOP HIM FROM WHAT HE COULD DO, AND HE A BAND OF BROTHERS HELPING HIM ALONG THE WAY. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND HEAR THE SYMBOLS THE BASS DRUMS AND THE TRUMPET WHEN YOU TEAK A CLOSER LOOK AT XANAX’S MARCHING BAND, YOU’LL SEE THE TEAMWORK PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER. 18 YEAR OLD ANDREW GILLESPIE, 'I’S THIS TEAMWORK. THAT’S HELPED HIM BRING HIS TALENT ON THE TRUMPET ONTO THE FIELD WITHOUT LIKE THE REST OF THE TRUMPET SECTION AND DR. BETH. DAN SOME OTHER PEOPLE THAT UNFORTUNATELY WERE OYNL HERE FOR BAND CAMP AS STAFF. I DON’T KNOW IF I’D STILL BE HERE HONESTLY, LIKE IF I’D STILL BE ABLE TO DO THIS. A MONTH AFTER ANDREW WAS BORN HIS PARENTS FOUND OUT HE WAS BLIND HIS CONDITION IS CALLED BILATERAL RETINAL DYSPLIAAS. HIS RETINAS DIDOT N FORM WHILE IN UTERO ANDREWS FATHER SAYS, OTHER THAN THAT, HIS SON IS A TYPICAL TEAM AND HE WANTS OTHERS TO SEE HIM THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, MOST PROUD MOMENT I HAD WAS YOU KNOW WHEN THE OTHER BANDS DON’T REALIZE THAT HE’S BLIND. WHEN IT CAME TO JOINING THE MARCHINGAN BD ANDREW’S PARENTS WEREN’T WORRIED ABOUT THE PLAYING BUT THE MOVEMENTS SO TO BE KIND OF LIKE UP THEN DOWN. YEAH, AND THEN WHEN YOU THERE YOU GO ANDREW HIMSELF HAD SEOM ANXIETY ABOUT IT ALL THE FIRST WEEK. I HAD NO IADE WHAT I WAS DOING BANDIRECTOR. JODI BEST HAS BEEN BEHIND HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. WE HAVE KIND OF A LILETT SOMEWHERE WE EITHER TAP HIS SHLDEROU A LITTLE BIT OF ONE WAY IF WE’RE GOING TO THE RIGHT TO THE LEFT AS FAR AS THE FINGERS. I WILL USUALLY ASK WHEERTH HE’S RESTING. TELL THEM WHAT THE NEXT MEOV IS LIKE. OKAY, NEXT MOVE. WE’RE GOING 16 STEPS BACK BIG STEPS A LITTLE STEPS. I DON’T HAVE THE SHEET MUSIC FOR ALL THE BAND TUNES. ANDREW SAYS HE DOESN’T USE ETH MUSIC BECAUSE IT’S INEFFIENTIC AND UNUSABLE WHILE PLAYING AS LONG AS TREHE’S ANOTHER PERSON PLAYING SECOND TRUMPET. I CAN KIND OF LIKEAG T ON AND PLAY THE EXACT SAME NOTES AS THEY WOULD BE AND REMEMBER IT. THEES ARE PHENOMENAL PLAYERND A ISNE O OF THE HARDEST WORRSKE HARD WORK AMATO ANDREW LESIV BY I FEEL LIKE ANYONE CAN DO. ALMOST ANYTHING A LSONG AS THEY PUT THEIR MIND TO IT. AND AMAZING KID TREHE ANDREW AND THE BAND PRACTICES THREE DAYS A WEEK ABOUT AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES EACH DAY. THEY TRAVEL TO ALL OF THE GAMES AND PERFORM FOR ALL OF THE HOME FOOTBALL GAMES. NOW THE BAND ALSO PERFOSRM FOR OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR A TNDHEY HAVE THIS THING WITH THE MOTHERHOOD TTHA BASICALLY IS LIKE THEY LIFT EACH OERTH UP AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THEY’RE DOING FOR ANDWRE AND AND HE FOR THEM HAS BEEN AN INSTRUCTOR. FIRST OF ALL HE WAS SAYING HOW GOOD IT IS TO BE BACK ON THE FIELD AND GET THAT VIEW BECAUSE HE’S USUALLY UP THERE BUT NOW HE’S DOWN THERE WITH ANDREW BUT ALSO THAT ANDREW IS AN AMAZING PLAYER ON THE TRUMPET AND HE IS TEACHING HIS BANDMATES. I KNOW HE WON. I KNOYOW U YOU DID THE STORY IT GOT ME CHOKED UP WATCHING IT BECAUSE AS A PARENT, IT’S IT'’ HARD TO PUT YOUR CHILD OUT THERE WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID. MAYBE TYHE WON’T BE ACCEPTED WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID. MAYBE THEY’LL FAIL ANDOR F THAT BAND AND THE DIRECTOR JODY. I MEAN AMAZING TO WPRA THEIR ARMS AROUND HIM AND HELPIM H BE THE BEST THAT HE CAN BSOE THAT HE’S ABLE TO CONTINUE DOING WHAT HE LOVES. I MEAN, HONESTLY IT GETS IT’S REALLY EMOTIONAL AND WHAT EELS I THOUGHT WAS AS A PARENT SO OFTEN KIDS ARE LIKE WHEN THEY’RE GOING GETS TOUGH. THEY JUST GIVE UP BOY, ISN’T HE AN INSPIRATION? EVERY GET OUT TREHE WHAT I DIDN’T PUT IN THERE. HE LIFTED NIKE SLOGAN JUST DO IT. HE’S LIKE, YOU KNOW NEW THINGS ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE HARD AND DIFFICULT, BUT JUST ONCEOU Y JUMP INTO IT, IT’S NOT THAT BAD. THOSE WERHIE S WORDS AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED. WELL ANDREW I TELL YOU WHAT, YOU’RE AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US NOT JUS

St. Xavier High School football team to play against Loyola Academy on ESPN next month

A local high school football team will be playing on ESPN next month

Updated: 12:23 PM EDT Jul 15, 2022

A local high school football team will be playing on ESPN next month. Saint Xavier High School will participate in the GEICO ESPN High School Football which will feature seven games on ESPN between Aug. 25-28. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the teams. This will be the second game for the Bombers, who have their season opener at Lakota West on Aug. 19. St. Xavier will play against Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.). Loyola Academy, a Class 8A program (large school), is located in The Village of Wilmette, a suburb on the north shore of Chicago.This will not be the first time St. Xavier will appear on ESPN, as the team's most recent game played on the network was in August 2020 at Brownsburg (Ind.). According to ESPN, Loyola went 12-1 last season and will look to get over the hump in Illinois this season. Senior DE Brooks Bahr is a Michigan commit.Meanwhile, St. Xavier looks to return to the Ohio State Championship after going 10-3 last season. Senior OL Rob Folger (Georgia Tech, Indiana & Pitt) and junior DE Ted Hammond (Cincinnati, Iowa & Minnesota) anchor the offensive and defensive lines.

CINCINNATI —

A local high school football team will be playing on ESPN next month.

Saint Xavier High School will participate in the GEICO ESPN High School Football which will feature seven games on ESPN between Aug. 25-28.

Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the teams. This will be the second game for the Bombers, who have their season opener at Lakota West on Aug. 19.

St. Xavier will play against Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.). Loyola Academy, a Class 8A program (large school), is located in The Village of Wilmette, a suburb on the north shore of Chicago.

This will not be the first time St. Xavier will appear on ESPN, as the team's most recent game played on the network was in August 2020 at Brownsburg (Ind.).

According to ESPN, Loyola went 12-1 last season and will look to get over the hump in Illinois this season. Senior DE Brooks Bahr is a Michigan commit.

Meanwhile, St. Xavier looks to return to the Ohio State Championship after going 10-3 last season. Senior OL Rob Folger (Georgia Tech, Indiana & Pitt) and junior DE Ted Hammond (Cincinnati, Iowa & Minnesota) anchor the offensive and defensive lines.