In January, on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings usually reserved for hanging with friends and sleeping in, James Wilent and his Monsignor Bonner football teammates were in the weight room, preparing for a season eight months away.

"It was rough at times," said Wilent, a senior outside linebacker, "but everyone showed up and worked hard. What helped us through it was that we knew it would pay off in the end."

It did, in Week 2. Carrying a major monkey on their backs in the form of a 24-game losing streak that spanned four seasons, the Friars clawed it off by beating Interboro, 7-6, in a nonleague matchup Friday night at Upper Darby High.

The players rejoiced. The coaches, thrilled most of all for the players, embraced. Bonner supporters streamed from the stands onto the field.

"It was exhilarating, on a lot of different levels," Friars second-year coach Tom Oropeza said. "The kids had worked so hard in the off-season to prepare for this year. It was great to see them get rewarded for that."

In the fourth quarter, with the Friars nursing a one-point lead, the 6-foot, 200-pound Wilent intercepted a third-down pass at the Bonner 30-yard line and returned it 28 yards.

"I just followed the tight end, stayed on his hip, and cut underneath for the ball," Wilent said.

Earlier, in a 16-play drive that lasted from midway through the third quarter into the fourth, the Bucs drove to the Bonner 2. But on fourth and goal, senior free safety Dave Smith came up and stopped Shawn Krautzel short of the end zone. "We really came together as a team on that goal-line stand," Wilent said.

In addition to Smith (team-high nine tackles) and Wilent, Bonner's other defensive standouts were cornerbacks Anthony Jackson and Sam Christie along with ends Matt English and Aaron Wallower. The linebacking corps also included Larry DelViscio, Tom Fitzgerald and Marco Dapkey.

Of Wilent, a 17-year-old from Drexel Hill, Oropeza said, "He plays with a lot of fire. He's a tough, hard-nosed football player. He's a reflection of the type of team we have."

Wilent's brother, Greg, is a junior outside linebacker for the Friars. He is out with a broken arm suffered in a preseason scrimmage against Conwell-Egan.

In its 24-game losing streak, Bonner dropped its final game of the 2005 season, went 0-11 in 2006 and 2007, and went down in this year's opener against next-door neighbor Upper Darby, 28-7.