A state championship for the football Falcons provided a storybook ending to not only a record-setting campaign on the gridiron, but to the entire fall athletic season at Saint Stephen’s. It was a story of unprecedented success. Of the eight varsity teams competing in the fall, five won district titles, three were regional champions, and six qualified to compete at their respective state championships

One year earlier on the same field at The Master’s Academy, the football Falcons had been humbled in a shutout loss to Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic in their first-ever trip to the Sunshine State Athletic Conference Championship Game. The second visit appeared to be headed in the same direction until SSES scored three touchdowns in a span of 6:02 of the fourth quarter, turning a 14-point deficit into a 21-14 victory over Vero Beach Saint Edward’s School. The win earned Saint Stephen’s its first independent state football title and capped a thrilling 11-1 season.

The boys golf team completed an undefeated regular season in dominating fashion, winning by an average of nearly 22 strokes per match. They then went on to win their sixth overall district championship, third consecutive and fifth overall regional championship, and finish third at the state tournament. The Falcons also captured the Manatee County Golf Championship for the first time, with junior Ryan Kinkead taking the individual title. Junior Massimo Mbetse shot 69 to take medalist honors at the regional tournament in Fort Myers for a team that looks primed for the future. On the girls side, the Falcons won their fifth consecutive district and regional titles and finished 13^th at the state tournament. Senior Vanessa Yan paced the team all season to finish her stellar career as one of the best all-time at Saint Stephen’s. She shot 72 to finish second at the regional and posted her third straight top-30 individual finish at state. The regular season included lopsided tri-match victories against Braden River and Cardinal Mooney (by 37 strokes) and Manatee and Out of Door (by 36).

The cross country teams made school history by winning district championships for the first time in both boys and girls meets. They then followed that up by finishing second (boys) and sixth (girls) at the regional run to qualify for the state championships. The Falcons eventually placed 17^th (boys) and 19^th (girls) in Tallahassee. Senior Andrew Csubak was a standout throughout the season and became the first Falcon to win two events in the same campaign, leading the pack across the finish line at two of the biggest meets of the year – the Venice Invitational and the District Championship.

Under first year Head Coach Jeff Logsdon, boys swimming broke four school records and qualified for the state meet in two individual events and one relay. The Falcons finished the season in 29^th place at state.