— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Huntington St. Joseph’s High School is well-known for its nine Class A state championships in girls basketball.
In the future, the Irish are hoping to create a tradition in another sport — football.
The school announced Thursday that it plans to begin football competition in 2023.
St. Joe Athletic Director and boys basketball coach Todd Maynard indicated the Irish plan to field a junior varsity football team next year, before beginning varsity competition in Class A in the fall of 2024.
School Principal Dr. Carol Templeton says a lot of work remains before St. Joe hits the gridiron.
“Size, number of students, the cost factor, a playing field, locations to keep all of the equipment — there is a lot to think about,” Templeton said. “I believe we’ve done our homework and we believe we’ll have community support.”
Maynard says there is no commitment to a venue the Irish football program will call its home. One possibility is an astroturf field at Barboursville Park which is already marked for football. There is also a scoreboard already in place at the Barboursville Park field and seating should soon be added.
St. Joe fielded football teams in the 1930s and early 1940s, but the program was dropped during World War II.
Maynard’s hope is for the Irish to be competitive, he’s also realistic about the challenge ahead, including the hiring of a coaching staff.
“We hope to play fellow Catholic schools like Parkersburg Catholic as well as other local Single-A teams like Tolsia, Hannan, Tug Valley and Wahama,” Maynard said. “We don’t know how competitive we’ll be until we start building the program and see what we have.”