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DeMatha Catholic High School

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Coordinates: 38°57′29″N 76°56′32″W / 38.95806°N 76.94222°W / 38.95806; -76.94222
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DeMatha Catholic High School
Address
Map
4313 Madison Street

Hyattsville
,
Maryland
20781

United States
Coordinates38°57′29″N 76°56′32″W / 38.95806°N 76.94222°W / 38.95806; -76.94222
Information
TypePrivate, College-prep
MottoGentlemen & Scholars
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)St. John of Matha
Established1946
FounderTrinitarian Order
PrincipalDaniel McMahon
Faculty85
Grades9–12
GenderBoys
Enrollment800
Student to teacher ratio12:1
Campus size10 acres (40,000 m2)
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)Red and blue    
SongDeMatha Forever!
Fight songOne DeMatha
Athletics conferenceWashington Catholic Athletic Conference
NicknameStags
RivalsGonzaga College High School Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
NewspaperThe DeMatha Stagline
Tuition$16,995
Websitewww.dematha.org

DeMatha Catholic High School, named after Saint John of Matha, is a four-year Catholic high school for young men located in Hyattsville, Maryland, USA. A member of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

History

DeMatha was founded by the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, or Trinitarians, in 1946 in Hyattsville, Maryland, about 2 miles south of University of Maryland, College Park. Originally, the school was designed for Catholic seminarians from the Trinitarian order. However, many locals desired a Catholic secondary school for their children, and DeMatha's location in the Maryland suburbs of Washington proved ideal for this desire. As a result, the school began admitting more students, and expanded its academic and athletic programs while constructing the "old wing", or original school structure.

In addition to the original building, the school erected a state-of-the-art second wing, completed in 1990. The former band practice facility, known as "Fort Necessity", burned down in the 1970s. This building was refurbished and became the Anthony Fotos Arts Center, named for a beloved teacher of mechanical drawing and other architectural and engineering courses and a 30-year veteran of the school.

In 2001, the school purchased two acres adjacent to the original campus along Route 1, or Baltimore Avenue, in downtown Hyattsville. The additional property is now a Gateway on Route 1 and three parking lots. In 2009, the McCarthy Activity Center became the home of DeMatha's Music Department, and in early 2010, the LT (SEAL) Brendan Looney '99 Convocation Center opened on Madison Street. This building includes a new gym, which replaced the Morgan Wootten Gymnasium, as well as a weight/fitness room, classrooms, athletic offices, alumni lounge, Stag Store, snack shop, film room, batting cages, and other amenities.

While DeMatha continues its tradition of all-male secondary education, when Regina Catholic High School, an all-girls school in Adelphi, Maryland, closed in 1989, DeMatha welcomed 21 members of the junior class who expressed a desire to finish their last high school year at DeMatha. Therefore, the class of 1990 contains the only female graduates in school history. Elizabeth Seton in Bladensburg, Maryland, is DeMatha's official sister school.

Academics

The school offers a variety of honors and sixteen Advanced Placement courses, as well as various academic clubs and societies. Also offered are opportunities for study abroad and service within local Maryland communities, in keeping with Trinitarian tradition. The school emphasizes the importance of being both "a gentleman and a scholar".

The United States Department of Education recognized DeMatha as a Blue Ribbon School in 1984 and 1991.[2] In DeMatha's 70-year history, the school has graduated over 9,000 young men. The school supports the Valois chapter of the National Honor Society, with a large percentage of upperclassmen participating in the group. The DeMatha chapter assists with food drives, fundraisers, and cleaning efforts of local parks, including the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.

DeMatha fields competitive scholastic competition teams. For example, DeMatha routinely appears on It's Academic, the Washington-based television quiz show. DeMatha has emerged victorious several times during their television appearances.

DeMatha routinely fields a strong Mock Trial team. Consisting of academically talented students, and coached by faculty and alumni mentors, the team has enjoyed great success and exposure over the years, being featured in publications such as the "Catholic Standard" and arguing before the Maryland Court of Appeals. The team regularly makes a showing in Maryland state semifinals, winning the statewide Maryland championship in 2001.

Music program

DeMatha's music program was founded in 1970 by John Mitchell. DeMatha performing groups have received 50 gold medals at international festivals in Chicago, Toronto, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Daytona Beach. Each year, five ensembles and two choral programs perform at a major music festival. The bands and choruses have received consistent superior ratings for the past 30 years at District, Archdiocesan, and State Band festivals, including multiple Grand Champion awards. In addition, over 40% of students participate in the music program.[3]

Over 500 students have been chosen to perform in All-State bands since 1974, the most of any private school in Maryland in that span of time, and over 300 alumni have gone on to professional careers in music. The graduating class of 2013 earned more than $4.1 million in college scholarships.

DeMatha's music programs feature both academic and extracurricular performing groups including:[4]

  • Concert Band
  • Symphonic Band
  • Wind Ensemble
  • Concert Strings
  • Sinfonia
  • Percussion Ensemble
  • Pep Band
  • Jazz Lab
  • Jazz Ensemble

In addition, the school maintains a choral program focusing on performance music, which includes:

  • DeMatha Singers
  • DeMatha Harmonics
  • Voices of DeMatha

Athletics

DeMatha's athletic teams, the Stags, have received national recognition for achievement in a variety of sports, from golf and baseball to basketball and football. Sports Illustrated recognized DeMatha as the #2 high school athletic program in the United States in 2005, and again in 2007. In 2009, it was named the top athletic program in Maryland.

Morgan Wootten Gymnasium
Morgan Wootten Gymnasium

The Stags first gained national recognition in 1962 with their initial national championship in basketball with a team led by John Austin, Johnny Jones, Gary Ward, John Carroll and "Big" Bill McDermott, coached by Morgan Wootten. In 1965, the DeMatha basketball team won its second national championship defeating Power Memorial Academy of New York, with then Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), in a game called "The Greatest High School Basketball Game Ever".[5] Morgan Wootten earned a spot as the first high school basketball coach inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his achievements as the Stags' coach, including a career 1,274-192 record.[6]

DeMatha's basketball program has produced many championships in the school's Washington Catholic Athletic Conference league, and the team often participates in the City Title game against opposing schools from the District of Columbia. In 2005, DeMatha's varsity basketball team finished with the #1 ranking in The Washington Post and finished as the third-best high school squad in the country, according to USA Today.[citation needed]

The DeMatha varsity football team won the 2008 WCAC championship for the sixth consecutive year and finished ranked #1 in the DC area by The Washington Post. In 2004, Bill McGregor was named "High School Coach of the Year" by the NFL. He was nominated by his former player, Brian Westbrook, then playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. They won four consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles from 2013-2016.[7]

The DeMatha varsity soccer team has won six WCAC championships, and had a 67-game undefeated streak from 2004 through 2007. DeMatha's 2010 soccer team was WCAC champs, went undefeated (24-0-0) and were ranked number 3 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and number 4 in the nation by ESPN. The 2010 team also scored 110 goals while allowing only 10 goals in all games. The 2011 soccer team were also WCAC champions and undefeated (20-0-0), and ended their season ranked number 1 in the nation by National Soccer Coaches Association of America.[8]

The DeMatha wrestling team is known as a national powerhouse, and won 23 consecutive WCAC championships until being beaten by Bishop O'Connell in the 2008-2009 season.[9][10]

DeMatha also fields competitive teams, each with a number of conference titles, in other sports, such as cross country, swimming/diving, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, rowing (crew), rugby, and track. DeMatha has produced several All-American wrestlers. The lacrosse team have won several championships.

Notable alumni

Arts and entertainment

Television

Publishing

  • Michael Mewshaw (1961) is an author.[15]
  • Thomas S. Hibbs (1978) is an American philosopher and author, dean and distinguished professor of philosophy at Baylor University.
  • Jim Nelson (1981) is an editor, currently the Editor-in-Chief of GQ magazine.[16]

Sports

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Lacrosse

NASCAR

Soccer

  • Jordan Graye (2005) is a professional soccer player for the Major League Soccer team Houston Dynamo.
  • Drew Yates (2006) is a professional soccer player for the USL Harrisburg City Islanders.
  • Bill Hamid (2008) is a professional soccer player for the Major League Soccer team D.C. United.

Track and field

Notable staff

References

  1. ^ MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2009-07-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  3. ^ "Music Program". DeMatha Catholic High School. Retrieved 28 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  4. ^ "DeMatha: Arts and Music". Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. ^ Jones, Mark. "The Greatest Game Ever Played", WETA-TV Boundary Stones, January 30, 2015. Accessed December 29, 2016. "Some have called it the greatest high school basketball game ever played.On January 30, 1965, before a packed house at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House, Dematha Catholic clashed with the aptly-named Power Memorial Academy out of New York City. Led by 7’1” center Lew Alcindor (who later became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the NBA as Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Power Memorial was riding a 71-game winning streak and had been tabbed as the mythical #1 high school team in the nation."
  6. ^ Halley, Jim. "Morgan Wootten helped shape modern high school basketball", USA Today, May 2, 2013. Accessed December 29, 2016. "'True basketball coaches are great teachers and you do not humiliate, you do not physically go after, you do not push or shove, you do not berate, if you are a true coach,'" said Wootten, the first high school coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame."
  7. ^ Giannotto, Mark. "DeMatha rallies late to stun St. John’s for fourth straight WCAC title", The Washington Post, November 19, 2016. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  8. ^ Steinbacher, David. "DeMatha soccer team wins national, local titles; Top national ranking is first in school’s history", Catholic Standard, December 6, 2011. Accessed December 29, 2016. "With the win, the Stags improved to 20-0-0 on the season; with the loss, Gonzaga dropped to 12-4-2 on the season. DeMatha's varsity soccer team has not lost a game since November, 2009.Also, for the first time in its history, DeMatha's varsity soccer team was ranked number one in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)."
  9. ^ Rubenstein, Adam. "DeMatha wrestlers dethroned in WCACStags lose conference title after 23 consecutive championships", The Gazette (Maryland), February 2, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2016. "Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions ended Saturday at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va., as Bishop O'Connell (Va.) dethroned the Stags in the WCAC tournament."
  10. ^ Carrera, Katie. "Wrestling: DeMatha back on top", The Washington Post, February 16, 2010. Accessed December 29, 2016. "The headline that read 'O’Connell Halts Stags’ Title Run' was one final reminder of the trophy missing from the DeMatha halls after O’Connell ended the Stags’ string of 23-consecutive WCAC titles."
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Brady, Erik (6 November 2002), "Winningest prep basketball coach Wootten retires", USA Today, retrieved 13 November 2010, Morgan Wootten invoked Ecclesiastes on Wednesday as he announced his retirement from DeMatha Catholic High School, where he won more basketball games than any coach in high school history ... (table includes alumni in NBA) ... James Brown of Fox Sports stood in the back, but he was not there as a member of the media. "I had to be here," said Brown, who played for Wootten in the 1960s
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j McNally, Brian (9 October 2009), "Top 10 notable DeMatha alumni", The Washington Examiner (Washington, DC, USA), retrieved 15 November 2010, Adrian Dantley ... Danny Ferry ... Brian Westbrook ... Paul Rabil ... Keith Bogans ... Joe Forte ... Derek Mills ... James Brown ... Sidney Lowe ... Dereck Whitteburg ...
  13. ^ Solomon, George (29 May 2005), "Keeping Up With Jones", The Washington Post, retrieved 13 November 2010, Former Post sportswriter David Aldridge, a DeMatha graduate now working for the Philadelphia Inquirer and TNT, calls himself the school's "patron saint of the uncoordinated."
  14. ^ a b c d Woodson, Alex (November 2004). "Honor Roll: These five schools have been top breeding grounds for NBA talent". Vibe. 12 (11). New York, NY, USA: Vibe/Spin Ventures LLC: 142. ISSN 1070-4701. Legendary Coach Morgan Wootten saw 14 of his former Stags make it to the NBA ... From Detroit Piston great Adrian Dantley ('73) to journeyman Danny Ferry ('85) to 2003 Orlando Magic first-rounder Keith Bogans ('99). DeMatha has been a hoops institution for decades, even producing NBA journalists like network reporter David Aldridge
  15. ^ Nemeth, Sarah (19 October 2006), "If you could see him now: World-traveling author swoops into Hyattsville", The Gazette (Gaithersburg, MD, USA), retrieved 13 November 2010, Mewshaw graduated from DeMatha High School in 1961 and is visiting the school tonight to inspire students.
  16. ^ Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (5 April 2006), "The Reliable Source: GQ Goes Into War Mode With Photos From Iraq", The Washington Post, retrieved 18 November 2010, "We want people to think of us differently," Editor in Chief Jim Nelson explained at the party ... Second surprise: that GQ's boyishly urbane editor is a 1981 grad of DeMatha -- the jock school ? The Greenbelt native laughed. "I grew up in the cult of DeMatha
  17. ^ Mills, Keith (3 May 2007). "Nine join hall of fame". article. PressBoxonline.com. Retrieved 15 November 2010. Steve Farr: Farr went to Dematha and then American University before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1976. After an eight-year minor league career he was traded to Cleveland in 1983 and picked up by Kansas City in 1985 as a free agent. Farr saved 38 games for the Royals in 1989 and '89 and 78 from 1993 to '95 with the Yankees.
  18. ^ "DeMatha grad to pitch for Toronto: Blue Jays call up former Stags' left-hander Brett Cecil; First start set for Tuesday", The Gazette (Gaithersburg, MD, USA), 1 May 2009, retrieved 14 November 2010, In his third season of professional baseball, DeMatha High School graduate Brett Cecil is headed to the big leagues. The Toronto Blue Jays announced Friday morning that they are bringing the 22-year-old left-handed pitcher up from their Class AAA affiliate in Las Vegas.
  19. ^ "Johnny Austin". biographic and statistical information. Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 13 November 2010. High School: DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland
  20. ^ "Mike Brey". biographic sketch. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 13 November 2010. Prior to entering the collegiate ranks, Brey previously spent five seasons as an assistant coach at his high school alma mater, DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., under Wootten before taking the assistant's post at Duke. He served as DeMatha head junior varsity coach and varsity assistant beginning in 1982. During the five years, DeMatha combined to finish 139-22
  21. ^ Noie, Thomas R. (Spring 2010). "Calling the Shots" (PDF). GW Magazine. Washington, DC, USA: The George Washington University. Retrieved 13 November 2010. Graduating from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., Coach Brey never thought to attend George Washington, a school where his mother, Betty, served as swim coach and his father, Paul, a former high school athletic director earned his master's degree.
  22. ^ a b Wootten, Morgan; Gilbert, Dave (2003), Coaching basketball successfully (second ed.), Champaign, IL, USA: Human Kinetics, ISBN 0-7360-4790-5, p. 210
  23. ^ "Adrian Branch". biographic and statistical information. Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 13 November 2010. High School: DeMatha Catholic, in Hyattsville, MD
  24. ^ Suderman, Alan (14 December 2009), "Former basketball star, cop suing Montgomery County over heart problems", Washington Examiner (Washington, DC, USA), retrieved 15 November 2010, Steven Hood starred at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville in the mid-1980s and later for James Madison University. He then played almost a decade of professional basketball overseas, court records show.
  25. ^ "Jerrod Mustaf". statistics and biograhic data. Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 15 November 2010. High School: DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland
  26. ^ Schmoldt, Eric (10 November 2007). "Schroyer brings years of lessons". article. trib.com. Retrieved 18 November 2010. Schroyer worked on his game with his father and friends from that point until it was time to go to high school. Living in Walkersville, Md., ... He chose DeMatha High School and legendary coach Morgan Wootten, even though they were 90 minutes down the road.
  27. ^ Lieber, Jill (7 November 1994). "Mike Johnson". Sports Illustrated. 81 (19). New York, NY, USA: Time & Life: NC8. ISSN 0038-822X. Retrieved 15 November 2010. Detroit linebacker Mike Johnson has always been fascinated by structural design ... That search for harmony is a hallmark of Johnson's off-field interests as well. In his senior year at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md., he enrolled in architectural drawing classes and became engrossed in his projects.
  28. ^ Friend, Tom (26 August 1989), "Riggs, Redskins Run Over Dolphins", The Washington Post (Washington, DC, USA), retrieved 15 November 2010, Leading by 14 with under five minutes remaining, Washington punter Rick Tuten fielded a low snap from center Ralph Tamm and had his kick smothered by rookie Louis Oliver. Cornerback J.B. Brown of Maryland and DeMatha High School recovered in the end zone.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Maske, Mark (18 September 2009), "NFL News Feed: DeMatha Has Most NFL Players", The Washington Post, retrieved 18 November 2010, According to the announcement, seven DeMatha alums were on opening-weekend NFL rosters, including the Washington Redskins' Byron Westbrook and Edwin Williams. The other DeMatha products were Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook, Atlanta's Quinn Ojinnaka, Miami's Derek Wake and Seattle's John Owens and Josh Wilson.
  30. ^ Murray, Ken (23 July 1991), "Humphries gets second chance Redskins notebook", Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD, USA), retrieved 15 November 2010, Coy Gibbs, the son of Redskins coach Joe Gibbs and former DeMatha High linebacker, will play for the Maryland all-stars in Saturday's Big 33 game against Pennsylvania on Saturday in nearby Hershey.
  31. ^ "Derek Mills". biographic sketch. Tulane University Athletic Department. 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2010. A native of Washington, D.C., and a graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School, Mills was a four-time NCAA Champion for the Yellow Jackets. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "Morgan B. Wootten". biographical sketch. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2000. Retrieved 13 November 2010. In over forty years of coaching at legendary DeMatha High School, Wootten won more than 1,200 games and is the most successful high school coach in basketball history.
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