Cardinal Mooney football celebrates 2025 state title with ring ceremony

Cardinal Mooney finished the season 14-1, averaging 45.3 points per game. Behind their best defensive line in program history, the Cougars also held their opponents to 14 or fewer points in 11 of their 15 games.

Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School held a ceremony Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, to present the football team with their state championship rings.

“When you see that ring, it should not be representative of winning a championship, but the journey along the way,” Principal Ben Hopper said to the football players overflowing the bleachers, "And the young men you have become.”

For 45 minutes, four months after the initial celebration on the field, that same excitement came back as Cardinal Mooney football gathered once again.

“I want all you guys to know that this is not a normal thing,” Athletic Director Rafael Fernandez said. “There’s a lot of student-athletes who go through four years of high school, and they never see a state championship game, let alone a state championship.”

Father Sykes blessed the rarity, sprinkling “top shelf” holy water from Ireland over the rings.

Father Mike Scheip blesses the rings before they are presented. Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School held a ceremony Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, to present the football team with their state championship rings.

And as Clark watched his players grab their new hardware — seniors first, freshman last — he couldn’t help but reminisce about his 2025 squad.

“I remember a group of guys that were extremely talented,” Clark said. “They had to learn how to play with each other. They had to learn to trust each other, and trust their culture, and play together with the team. And it took us a couple of weeks to get through.”

By playoffs, Cardinal Mooney averaged 25 points in the first half alone.

“I remember our playoff run and how much these guys were bought in,” Clark said. “Jacksonville Bolles is a good football team, and I think the way we performed in the state championship speaks volumes about how much these guys decided that they can come together and be selfless.”

Center (#78) Ethan Salata shows off both of this state championship rings and medals following the presentation ceremony. Salata will be playing football for Stetson University in the fall. Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School held a ceremony Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, to present the football team with their state championship rings.

And while the 2025 team was on his mind then, sometimes Clark reminisces even further. He tries not to. At times, memories just seep through. Clark has been around Cardinal Mooney since he was 13, when he watched his older brother take the field. As a Cougar, Clark played quarterback for four years before earning a spot at Notre Dame.

In 2020, when Clark came back to lead Cardinal Mooney, he wanted moments like Thursday, where almost every one of his players twisted and turned their hands to catch every angle and detail of the ring.

With spring football practices starting Monday, Clark hopes the ceremony is a reminder of the great things Cardinal Mooney has done and, more than anything, what the Cougars can continue to do.

“When I came back to coach here, this is what we wanted to do,” Clark said. “We wanted to turn it into a state championship caliber team. The team now consistently competes for state championships. The fact that we are doing that. We’ve done that the last three years. It just makes you want to keep going.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Cardinal Mooney football celebrates 2025 Class 2A state title