This year Cardinal fans were shocked to see the sight of two little girls, running out on the field in SM football uniforms. When St. Mary's students Stacey Zakrzewski and Mary Kersenbrock were given the opportunity to play football, they eagerly signed up. Both of these energetic girls are in the fifth grade at SM elementary. When asked why they chose to play the so called "man's sport," they both simply responded, "We just love to play football!"

The fifth and sixth grade football teams were divided in to two teams, the Red Team and the White Team. Mary was on the White Team, coached by seniors David Pongratz, Kevin Heitz, Kevin Hibbs, Dave Williamson, and Tim Gokie. Kersenbrock played cornerback. She received all of the handoffs for the White Team. The White Team had an astounding 4-0 record. Stacey took on the positions of nose and end for the Red Team, which was coached by Juniors Jeremy Zak, Kevin O'Connell, Brian Hoesing, and Colin Jensen. She proved to be a very valuable blocker for the Red Team. And junior coaches stated that she was the best nose tackle on the whole team. Her team posted a 0-4 record, but promised to return bigger and better next year.

Both girls agreed that the game of football was not too rough for them. Being girls did not prohibit them from doing just as well as the boy players. "It wasn't that hard to tackle the guys. You just grabbed and pulled, and they were down," said Stacey. The only injuries sustained were a sprained ankle and hurt wrist.

Mary and Stacey both highly encourage other girls to go out for football. They say it was a fun experience, and they learned so much about the game of football. Both of them plan on playing football in high school, if their parents let them! "I made two touchdowns. It was fun being famous," exclaimed Mary Kersenbrock.