Champions

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Cover Story Continued sound suddenly becomes louder and more pronounced. Then it’s the realization that sound is actually a stampede of 11 student buses showing up, en masse, to support their classmates. A sack, a fumble and five touchdowns later, that same group celebrates with a 38-3 win and a trip to Hershey. It’s the anticipation of the ‘travel day’; the day before the championship game, when Prep shows how a sendoff is really done. It’s Bishop Lawrence Persico making his Rambler debut, wishing the team well while chanting ‘Give me a P. Give me an R. Give me an E. Give me a P. What’s that spell? “Prep”. What’s that mean? “<strong>Champions</strong>”. It’s chasing the bus, 8th graders all the way through 12th, carrying on a tradition while also adding a special touch of their own. Who knew some of our seniors would or could ride their bicycles all the way to Interstate 79 to follow that bus? It’s the pregame Mass to celebrate the presence of God in our lives. It’s coming out of the tunnel leading from the locker room to the Hershey Park field and being greeted by thousands of people wearing Orange & Black, including more than 650 Prep and Villa students. It’s a moment of silence just prior to kickoff for 26 innocent victims killed in Sandy Hook earlier in the day, putting life in true perspective. It’s four straight possessions netting points, followed by an underrated defense continuing to do their job. It’s the realization late in the fourth quarter that one more first down will do it, it will clinch the state title. It’s the ‘Gatorade bath’; the hugs, the smiles, the sweat, the tears. It’s the glorious ride back to the team hotel, the instructions of how to enter the lobby knowing you should likely have your iPads in ‘record mode’ to capture the moment. It’s seeing your family and friends celebrating this historic moment and wanting that feeling to last forever. It’s a police escort home and a seemingly endless amount of games and banquets to honor the accomplishment. “We couldn’t have been happier with the results of all the hard work that went into this season by the players and coaches,” Mike Mischler said. “But even more awesome than that was the display of the Prep community coming together to support the team and to show what Prep pride is all about.” It’s a party that still is continuing. It’s Prep. Thanks for the ride. The pleasure was all ours. “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” —Dan Gable, Olympic wrestler and coach. 4 SPRING 2013 The Magazine of Cathedral Preparatory School
A True Champion By Chris Hagerty ’75 Director of Advancement MSGR. JOHN HAGERTY 1930-2013 Former Cathedral Prep Headmaster and faculty member Msgr. John Hagerty passed away on April 6, 2013. Msgr. Hagerty graduated from Cathedral Prep in 1947 and returned to Prep as a priest and a faculty member in 1955. He taught at Prep for five years before being transferred to St. Mark Seminary. It seems as though God had a way of bringing Msgr. Hagerty back to his alma mater; thus it was 1984 when he returned as Headmaster at Cathedral Prep, a position he held for five years. He was inducted into Cathedral Prep’s “Headmaster’s Hall of Fame” in 2004. Msgr. Hagerty retired from his priestly ministry several years ago, but again, even in “retirement,” God kept calling him back to the school he loved so much. Msgr. accepted a teaching position at Prep in September of 2012 and taught first year Latin to the young men of Prep. At the age of 25, Msgr. Hagerty was teaching 15-year-olds at Prep, and almost 60 years later when he was 83, he was still teaching 15-year-old young men! What a rare gift to be able to span the ages and decades, and still have the ability to connect with young people. As a matter of fact, Msgr. Hagerty was teaching right up until the day he was hospitalized and later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had fainting spells in the classroom during the diagnosis process, but like a true Man of Prep, he kept returning to the classroom to teach his students. It was only when he could no longer get out of bed that he realized he could no longer come to school. Did that keep him from teaching? Not a chance. He kept in touch with his students and their progress through communicating with Lance Strasser, who kindly agreed to take over Msgr. Hagerty’s class. Msgr. Hagerty exemplified the meaning of “Loyal and True.” He was a Prep man from the beginning of his freshman year and continued being that man right up until the day he died. Over that span, he touched thousands of lives with his charm, humor and compassion. A testimony to the life Monsignor lived was evidenced by his funeral Mass. It was standing room only at Blessed Sacrament church, with the pews filled a half hour before Mass even started. In attendance were over 80 priests, three bishops, and hundreds of people from all over the Diocese of Erie. It was a fitting conclusion to the life of a good and faithful servant. Msgr. John Hagerty was a true champion of Catholic education, a true champion of Cathedral Prep, and a true soldier of Christ. He will be dearly missed by so many, but his memory and legacy will last forever. Thus, we say farewell, and not goodbye, to our beloved shepherd: May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, May the rain fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand. Msgr. John Hagerty received a proclamation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2010. State Representative Pat Harkins presented Hagerty with the proclamation when he learned that he was chosen as “Priest of the Year” by the Serra Club. SPRING 2013 The Magazine of Cathedral Preparatory School 5
Page 1 and 2: Issue No. 1 SPRING 2013 The Magazin
Page 4 and 5: Cover Story By Bill Flanagan ’87
Page 9: Champions Reunite 50 Years Later L-
Page 12 and 13: Class Notes 1948, John Modica poses
Page 14 and 15: All our Alumni and all our benefact
Page 17 and 18: S P E C I A L E V E N T S 2013 Lega
Page 19 and 20: Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Acad
Page 21 and 22: Jim A Prep Tradition—The Annual M
Page 23 and 24: MacBeth By James McCormick ’13 Ma
Page 25 and 26: Frankenstein By Christian Burch ’
Page 27 and 28: Cathedral Prep is a school that is
Page 29 and 30: The Men of Prep engineering because
Page 31 and 32: The Men of Prep Prep & Villa Studen
Page 33 and 34: The Men of Prep Row 1: L-R: Olivia
Page 35 and 36: The Men of Prep JROTC Produces Cham
Page 37 and 38: The Men of Prep National Honor Soci
Page 39 and 40: BUSY NATIONAL SIGNING DAY AT PREP A
Page 41 and 42: ANOTHER STELLAR SEASON ON THE HARDW
Page 43 and 44: 17 years, also smashing the school
Page 45 and 46: The Chase brothers and sons took th
Page 47 and 48: Where’s Your Prep Spirit? do you

Champions

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