Blackfriars takes 2024 Intercol victory

For the first time since 2016, Blackfriars has brought the Intercol trophy back to Prospect.

“It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve done it!” Co-Curricular Administrator Gareth Cox said of this year’s 5-1 Intercol victory against Christian Brothers College.

“To all the Blackfriars students who participated and worked so hard, I am so proud of you. You’ve set a new standard for what we can achieve.

“This victory is not just a win for Blackfriars, but testament to the dedication, hard work and perseverance of our students, coaches and staff. After eight years – and considering three draws in the past five years – this moment is incredibly rewarding.”

Intercol 2024 kicked off with a big win in the chess. In fact, across the Middle and Senior match-ups, Blackfriars lost only two of 10 games. Since chess was introduced as an Intercol fixture in 2012, Blackfriars has only lost four times.

The action at the table tennis was fast and furious, with Blackfriars’ Senior A side securing the win, 15-5. It was our third consecutive year of taking the victory in the table tennis competition.

The Senior B table tennis team dropped just one game, for a 19-1 victory, while the Middle A and B table sides went down to CBC, but showed some great tenacity and spirit.

Debating closed out the evening. The Middle boys debated the negative on the topic “that Australia should introduce a sugar tax”, with Blackfriars taking the unanimous win.

Our Senior boys debated the topic “that imprisonment be abolished for non-violent criminals”, taking the negative side. Well done to Year 12s Daniel Song, William Campbell and Massimo Gazzola – in their final Intercol appearance – on the win.

Since debating was introduced to Intercol in 2010, Blackfriars and CBC had split the wins, 7-7. With this year’s win, Blackfriars edges ahead, 8-7.

Day 2 was all about basketball, with seven games across the afternoon at Adelaide 36ers Arena. CBC was too strong for our Middle school teams, taking all three games.

Blackfriars’ Open Bs claimed the first victory of the afternoon, while the Open Cs staged an amazing comeback to finish with a draw. The Open D side went down to CBC.

However, only the result of the Open A game counts towards the Intercol trophy – and our team came through. In an incredibly tight contest, the Blackfriars boys prevailed 41-39, securing the overall Intercol win.

Breakthrough victory

It was a foggy start to Day 3 of competition at ServiceFM Stadium, but the action on the pitch was red hot. It all came down to penalties in the 2nd XI, with the teams locked at 1-1 at full time. Despite some terrific goals and saves, CBC ultimately took the win.

Blackfriars had not won a 1^st XI Intercol soccer fixture since 2018. But that did not deter our boys, with Alex Battistella (Year 11) scoring early. CBC hit back in the second half, but Jacob Thang (Year 11) sealed the win for Blackfriars, 2-1.

With an overall 5-0 lead and spirits high, we headed to Prospect Oval for the final two Intercol matches of 2024.

Our Middle football side got the job done, with a 7.9 (51) – 2.5 (17) victory. Unfortunately, the 1^st XVIII were well beaten, 6.6 (42) – 17.9 (111).

Blackfriars Principal David Ruggiero thanked CBC for their sportsmanship and continued friendly competition.

“As a Blackfriars old scholar, and someone who taught at CBC, I appreciate the friendly rivalry. Intercol is an absolute highlight of our annual calendar and we are so thankful to the students and staff from CBC for this opportunity,” Mr Ruggiero said.

“This is not just about sport; it’s about friendship, respect and excellence. Intercol is a platform for building character and lifelong values.”

Blackfriars and CBC’s senior students will meet again in December for the Intercol cricket competition. Our younger students will go head-to-head with the CBC boys across nine soccer and basketball games on Friday night and Saturday morning (August 23/24).