Today, Saturday, September 1, the varsity football players are sound asleep at 6:45AM. But the JV players, having woken up at 6:15 AM, are now headed to a scrimmage versus the Loyola Ramblers’ JV squad. The JV squad did not play during the exciting game Friday night, but they still played a big role on the sidelines, providing moral support with chants like, “Defense! Defense!,” “JCP! JCP!,” and “Let’s go Rangers!”
In return, some of the varsity players woke up early and went along to the JV scrimmage to support their teammates. The final result of the scrimmage was a tie, so it will not be reflected in the JV’s record, which will remain 0-0. Afterwards, the entire team loaded up the buses at 11:45 AM and headed to downtown Dublin for the Notre Dame vs Navy game. After getting off of the bus about fifteen streets away from the stadium, players walked through the closed-off streets, buying scarfs, flags, and other souvenirs.
Players then headed into the Aviva stadium, waiting to watch the Emerald Isle Classic. A huge blowout already by halftime, Notre Dame easily won 50-10. After the game, some players took pictures and then walked a few streets over to the dog races. At 7:50 PM, the dog derby began, and friendly bets were shared among the players and coaches. At 8:30, after four races, the team decided to head to the hotel to start packing up.
The Rangers arrived back at the City West Hotel at 9:30 PM, packing for 30 minutes and then heading over to a large meeting room for a final Mass. After the Mass was over, Coach Hickman presented the team with a trophy for winning the game on Friday. The players then headed back to their rooms for curfew. They will wake at 6:15 AM to get ready for their plane ride back to the United States. The players will arrive in Texas on Sunday at approximately 7 PM Central time.
