Minerva (Ohio) rings victory bell; ends 33-game losing streak

Lions' student section storms the field as the school tastes victory for the first time since 2020; Aquinas has now lost 31 straight

Minerva's Jayden Yerger runs a sweep against St. Thomas Aquinas, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. The Lions won 16-7 to end a 33-game losing streak, while extended Aquinas' losing skid to 31 games. / Michael Skolosh / Special to The Alliance Review / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minerva high football team has a tradition when it wins a football game. The Lions ring the victory bell located behind one of their end zones.

Problem is, the bell had not been rung since Oct. 30, 2020, the last time the Lions won a game. Rusty or not, it was ringing Friday night as Minerva defeated St. Thomas Aquinas, 16-7, to end 33 game losing streak, which included an 0-4 start to the 2024 season.

As the Lions' offense took the final kneel down to kill the clock, the players sprinted with joy towards the bench and began celebrating with their teammates. Shortly thereafter, the Minerva student body stormed the field to join the celebration and as soon as the teams finished shaking hands, everyone sprinted towards the end zone to ring the bell.

Unleash the Beast!! Lion Pride!!! https://t.co/CJ8lY7gagB

— Minerva Lions Athletics (@lions_minerva) September 21, 2024

“I’m so happy for our players,” Minerva head coach Tim Speakman said to The Repository newspaper. “The time they’ve put in for the last two and a half years with me and this staff, the grinding and hearing all the stuff being said by other people, they stuck with it.

“They stuck with us, and they believed in each other. They came out here and worked hard. They deserve this win. Our community deserves this win and so does our school.”

Lions' kicker Zavier Wheeler provided much of the offense, nailing field goals of 22, 42 and 34 yards, as well as an extra-point. Quarterback Julian Dunbar also had a big night, scoring on a 3-yard first quarter TD run and recording a third quarter interception on defense.

It was one of those games where something had to give. The loss dropped Aquinas to 0-5 this year and the Knights extended their own losing streak to 31 games.