By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

And to think four years ago they were freshmen.

That’s a high school lifetime for most though and the class of ‘07 has seen some of the most successful programs in recent memory.

East St. John’s senior class has seen the football program blossom to one of the most potent in the state in the last four years while their baseball and softball teams made a significant turnaround in qualifying for the playoffs for two years in a row. St. Charles has enjoyed state tournament appearances for the last two years for both baseball and softball while the football team would likely have earned a state championship with seniors Kyle Faucheux, Steven Duhe, Matt Eriksen, Philip Sutton and Matthew Walters, who all play on the baseball diamond as well. The SCC gridiron squad had the unfortunate task of facing powerhouse John Curtis in the state championships for the last two years.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Riverside was crowned state champion in baseball in ‘06 while last year’s volleyball team enjoyed the best season in school history. That came, in large part to senior players such as Nicole Poirrier and Marci Millet who also helped the Lady Rebel softball squad to the playoffs despite being in the toughest district in the state along with Curtis and SCC.

Reserve Christian, meanwhile, brought home their third consecutive state championship in basketball with just three seniors left over from the Demond &#8220Tweety” Carter era. Seniors Justin Bernard, Chadd Simmons and Marcus Warren played a big part in that, and also helped the Eagles remain competetive in cross-country and track. On the girls side at RCS, Ashley Wilking was a force in five different sports including swimming, cross-country, volleyball, cheerleading and track.

West St. John will be losing a pair of big hitters in Daron Bartholomew and Brad Robertson. Bartholomew, an all-state running back for the Rams, helped WSJ reach the playoffs in the last two year’s, falling both times to the state runner-up in Class 2A. Robertson was a power hitter for the Rams on an understaffed baseball team that came within one district win of making the playoffs.