The Boys from the South

There’s not a trophy case in the halls at Santa Fe South High School. After the boys soccer team won their first state title last weekend, Principal Chris Brewster set the trophy on a table inside the main entrance. He said that after awhile trophies from other events were dug out of teacher’s closets and desks, so they added another table to accommodate all the hardware.

Chris Brewster and Coach Wes Furley present the school and the soccer team with their 2009 Soccer State Championship trophy at Santa Fe South High School in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman

Santa Fe South, a charter school in the Oklahoma City Public School system, had won several runner up awards in cross-country and soccer, but according to head coach Wes Furley, the Saints’ state championship win over Cascia Hall on Saturday became the first state championship in soccer ever won by an Oklahoma City public school.

Sharing the stage with David Olivas (right) and the rest of the boys soccer team, Principal Chris Brewster leads a "Saints" cheer during a pep rally to present Santa Fe South High School with their State Championship trophy in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, May 19, 2009. David Olivas scored both goals during the Saints' win over Cascia Hall in the state Championship game last Saturday. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

A few years ago I worked with Jenni Carlson on a feature story about the school and their new soccer program. I talked with principal Chris Brewster before Tuesday’s pep rally. He pointed to the framed copy of the paper featuring the story in his office. He told me that students, parents and teachers at the school are still talking about the story and the slideshow. He said people will stand in his office and read the article. It seems that we rarely get positive feedback, so it really brightened my day to hear that a slideshow I shot nearly three years ago is still resonating with people.