At the behest of Carmel Councilman Robert Kearns, the Mahopac Wolf Pac and Carmel Rams made a friendly wager last week: The winner of the Bryan Higgins Memorial Trophy game would see its school flag raised at Carmel Town Hall.
Related: Carmel tops Mahopac 28-21
While none of that was on the players' minds during visiting Carmel's hard-fought 28-21 triumph, it sure as heck was on Wednesday, Sept. 16, when Kearns led a group of Carmel students to the flagpole, where the Rams raised their school flag right smack in the middle of Mahopac.
“The boys are definitely excited to raise that flag,” first-year Carmel coach Alex Beauchesne said. “They fought through a ton of adversity throughout the game, which I loved to see.”
Second-year Carmel Athletic Director Tom Baker watched the Rams trudge through a 1-6 season last year. He turned to a 24-year-old former Ram to guide Carmel back to the kind of prominence the program saw under longtime coach Todd Cayea, including a NYSPHSAA Class AA title in 2021.
“It wasn't a gamble. Alex became the clear choice as we went through the hiring process,” Baker said. “Raising that flag symbolizes so much. It symbolizes the great pride that Carmel has for the community. It also signifies the hard work the student-athletes and coaches put into the offseason. They truly earned that win and the right to raise that flag. I think it's a wonderful gesture to allow the Carmel Ram flag to fly high and proud. Thank you to all who made that happen.”
Winning the Higgins Trophy is more than just bragging rights, according to former Mahopac and Carmel assistant coach Jim Donahoe, who said adding the twist of raising the winner's flag would only spice things up.
“The Carmel vs. Mahopac football rivalry is almost a season unto itself,” said Donahoe, now an assistant football coach at Windham High School in Maine. “Although the preparation, week to week, remains the same, during that week, the focus is just a little bit sharper, the practices a little bit more intense and the energy just a little bit higher.
“Beating ‘those guys down the road’ has major implications for the rest of the school year,” he added.
“Playing for the Higgins Trophy is truly an honor,” Donahoe said. “Bryan Higgins represented everything that is good and pure about high school football. Having been on both sidelines for this wonderful rivalry, there is nothing more heartbreaking than watching your opponent raise the Higgins Trophy at midfield, and there is no greater feeling than you doing the hoisting. Most importantly, it is a game that brings two great communities together, two schools with storied football programs, and creates memories that last a lifetime.
“And now they get to raise their flag.”
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