St. Thomas Eagles' Nest Spring 2024

eagles’ nest

Nathan Lindstrom - Cover Photography + Feature Story (Jack Burke Jr. ’40) spring 2024

St. Thomas High School Community Magazine

Eagles’ Nest Printed March 2024

The Eagles’ Nest is published twice annually by St. Thomas High School

4500 Memorial Drive Houston, Texas 77007-73332 713.864.6348

Rev. James Murphy, CSB - President

Dr. Aaron Dominguez ’96 - Principal

Daniel Bryant ’93 - Assistant Principal

Mark deTranaltes ’83 - Vice President for Advancement

Ronald George - Vice President of Finance

Rodney Takacs - Dean of Students

Keith Calkins - Director of Communications

Steve Cummings ’07 - Alumni Director

KH Studio - Layout, Art Direction + Design

eagles’ nest

spring 2024

St. Thomas High School Community Magazine

DEPARTMENTS

40 Eagle Flight

The campus community traditionally honors the spiritual bond that unites Eagle scholars and their fathers and mothers with liturgies and affirmation of faith while William Wittman ’24 and Campbell Brown ’24 lead a parade of acclaimed scholars in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

56 Eagle Fight

Johann Cardenas ’24 and Donte Lewis ’24 ignite historic season for Eagle Football while Eagle Cross Country earns breakthrough state championship.

78 Eagle Pride

Celebrating the exceptional lives of three champions for Basilian education and devout members of Houston’s Catholic community. Eagle alumni and extended family embrace opportunities to gather at the annual Eagle Eye Sporting Clays Tournament and Casino Night.

Like us, follow us, keep up with us! @sthcatholic

Features

CENTURY UNLIMITED

Honoring esteemed St. Thomas Hall of Honor member, eternal Eagle icon, and golfing immortal Jackie Burke ’40. An original by any standard.

A WAIT REWARDED

Evan Psencik ’05 hears God’s calling for unpredictable path to lead Catholic education in North Austin.

BASILIAN COMMITMENT AND INNOVATIVE SCHOLARSHIP

Appreciation to the St. Thomas community for their support of our annual Auction & Gala, honoring Steve Green ’68 for his decades of selfless, impactful philanthropy.

STRONGER TOGETHER

President Fr. James Murphy, CSB blesses the new home of Fr. Wilson Field, the next jewel among the school’s ever-expanding campus footprint.

NOURISHING BODY AND SOUL

St. Thomas theology faculty member

Danny Hernandez ’08 mentors Eagle scholars through Basilian principles of social justice, community service, and entrepreneurial spirit.

EASY A PIE

Dusty Dworak ’13 is flipping the San Antonio pizza scene upside down.

MAGIC NUMBERS

Toronto Blue Jay Cavan Biggio ’13 and former MLB pitcher Jeff McCurry ’88 return to campus to receive a permanent place in St. Thomas lore.

TAKE A BOW

Alumni Association recognizes the Most Rev. Brendan Cahill ’81, Bishop of Victoria, along with faculty members Joe O’Brien and Philip Cuneo for their exemplary contributions to Basilian college preparatory education.

century UNLIMITED

HE

He was the oldest living Masters Champion and staged the greatest final-day comeback ever at Augusta National. He was a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame while contributing to the game’s rich tapestry with a fashion and flair rarely seen and never duplicated.

He was famed as a pre-eminent instructor and one of his game’s great ambassadors. His signature opinions were hard and straight, like the drives off the tee which led to 17 tour wins and two major titles separated by a matter of months.

Within the St. Thomas community, he was raised to the school’s Hall of Honor, always ready and willing to champion the cause for his treasured alma mater.

An original by any standard.

On January 19, Jackie Burke ’40 passed away just 10 days shy of his 101st birthday. Distinguished player, teacher, club owner, author, influencer, and preserver of the best things in golf. And in many ways, life itself.

Burke was celebrated in 2017 at the annual St. Thomas Auction & Gala for his lifetime of contributions to the game and institution he cherished with equal depth and passion. There was no greater authority to paint the picture of the St. Thomas experience and the Basilian values that served as his bedrock throughout an expansive life.

“They instilled that goodness, discipline, and knowledge, didn’t just talk about it,” Burke said of the St. Thomas priests from his time 85 years ago. “That’s just the way they were. You couldn’t have gotten a better education than what I received from the Basilian Fathers. They were older guys. The rest of us kids didn’t know what the hell we were doing.”

Burke was part of the last St. Thomas graduating class at the original downtown location before the move to the current 4500 Memorial address.

“We didn’t have playing fields,” Burke said. “Played basketball on dirt. Had a handball court and boxing gloves. That was it. And we fought sometimes at lunch.”

Presumably without the gloves.

Fitting given that Burke was never known to pull a punch, verbal or bare-knuckle. He was literally born into the game.

Jack Burke Sr. was the teaching pro at River Oaks Country Club and also an accomplished player, the runner-up in the 1920 U.S. Open at Inverness Club.

By age 13, Jackie was running his father’s pro shop and by 20 was a working pro at Galveston Country Club, nurturing a love for the game rivaled only by the loyalty to his faith.

“Why did golf give us 26 rules when God only gave us 10 commandments?” Burke was frequently known to ask with a certain amount of seriousness.

“My dad was from Philadelphia. Anything Catholic was what I was going to be doing. Went to St. Anne Church. Grade school and every Sunday. Always sat in row one. Dad would say that way you get to hear the Mass first.”

Burke Sr. died when Jackie was serving in the Marines during World War II, where he taught combat skills at Miramar near San Diego. After his discharge in 1946, Burke accepted a position at the renowned Winged Foot Golf Club where he was embraced by 1948 Masters champion and acclaimed teaching pro Claude Harmon Sr. (grandfather of brothers Rick ’95 and Chris Harmon ’96).

Soon Burke was fully immersed in his outstanding playing career. In 1952, he finished first five times on tour, including four tournament wins in a row, and secured the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average.

In 1956, he orchestrated the grand dramatics at The Masters in the first year the prestigious tournament was televised. His staggering Sunday rally from eight shots down defeated Ken Venturi to claim his first major crown. Burke then captured the PGA Championship to earn PGA Player of the Year.

Burke followed by striking his boldest move. He left the fulltime tour at age 35 and founded Champions Golf Club with three-time Masters winner and close friend Jimmy Demaret in their hometown Houston. Burke’s golfing cathedral, along with Pinehurst Resort’s No. 2 course, are the only two clubs to have hosted both a men’s and women’s U.S. Open, a Ryder Cup Match, and a Tour Championship, with Champions adding the U.S. Amateur in 1993 (the year before Tiger Woods would win three in a row).

Burke refused to dwell on past performances while maintaining vivid memories of his iconic times, including five U.S. Ryder Cup teams with the likes of Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. Burke captained an American squad that included Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and Billy Casper to a victory at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

His thunderous tough-love instructionals and theories on competitive nature were later cast upon numerous top-tier touring pros including Ben Crenshaw, Steve Elkington, and Hal Sutton, plus hundreds of anonymous club members and rising juniors simply striving for improvement.

But there was so much more to Burke than his playing and mentoring credentials. He fervently drained from his vast reservoir of wisdom when asked why he retained such deep connections to his beloved St. Thomas, including a multiyear stretch welcoming the school’s annual tournament to Champions to benefit tuition assistance and Eagle Athletics.

“My father always told me to leave more than two footprints on this world,” Burke said.

In 2021, Burke pragmatically parted with his prized possession, selling Champions to his son Mike and ending a 64-year ownership. Among the changes, Mike’s son and Jack’s grandson Dean became the new club president and public face of the organization.

“It’s just something I had to do in the interest of amateur golf and the interest of our members,” Burke said at the time. “Don’t be bringing yesterday forward. You can’t do it. You have got to move on.”

Burke forever made his mark by never backing down, whether an argument, a conviction, or a $2 Nassau press. Yet he remained a traditionalist at heart. He never found a better twosome than with wife Robin, a former President of Champions and significant player in her own right. She was inducted into the Texas Golf of Fame in 2016 after a stellar career that included the 1990 and 1991 Texas Women’s Amateur titles and a strong second-place result at the 1997 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

No couple in America felt more zeal for golf than the Burkes, every day, working to grow the game, teach it, and play it. Even in his advanced years, Jackie’s advice was sought and he usually delivered succinctly, even painfully.

And Burke, to the final of his 100 years on earth, was equally commanding and direct when sharing his respect and reverence for St. Thomas. His deep connections to the school carry far beyond his brothers Edmund Sr. ’42, William ’47, and James ’50; sons John ’71 and Michael ’73; nephews Eddie Jr. ’66 and J.B. Lane ’73; great-nephews Trey ’94 and Kevin ’03; and great-great-nephews Luke ’24 and Ryan Burke ’26.

“Kids today are lucky if they get a Basilian education similar to mine,” Burke said. “That’s where the value is. The rest are amateurs compared to the Basilians. Don’t think anyone can touch them. I just hope the Basilians don’t run out of priests.”

Among the honorary pallbearers at Burke’s burial Mass were Elkington, Sutton, 1981 U.S. Amateur champion Nathaniel Crosby (sixth son of Bing), and multi-platinum-selling recording artist Clay Walker. His stirring rendition of “Amazing Grace” awed an emotional gathering at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church in Spring.

The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease

I shall possess within the veil, A life of joy and peace.

“You couldn’t have gotten a better education than what I received from the Basilian Fathers.”

STRONGER

together

The extended St. Thomas community was proud to gather in unison as President Fr. James Murphy, CSB blessed the new home of Fr. Wilson Field, the next jewel among the school’s ever-expanding campus footprint.

The exquisite facility stands as one of the premier on-campus high school baseball parks in Texas and the region.

host of invaluable St. Thomas stakeholders were in attendance as President Fr. Murphy threw out a ceremonial first pitch and then shared the spotlight with current student-athlete Billy Theroux ‘24 whose class will be the first to stage a competitive season in the friendly confines.

During the celebration, President Fr. Murphy exuded considerable excitement as St. Thomas confidently positions in the brave new world of college preparatory education. He emphasized the deliberate efforts to ongoing facilities projects that blend historic beauty with innovative function and the continued St. Thomas commitment to students and their families.

“In recent years, we have completed a new STEM facility, new student center, dedicated adult meeting spaces, and made a true connection between the South Campus and the Joplin Campus. And now we prepare for our immediate and far future. In the previous year, we have collectively crafted a strategic plan.

“It’s my privilege to present the five pillars of that vision:

“Basilian Charism. Now more than ever, it is critical that we ensure the traditions of the Basilian Fathers are brought forth through our lay staff.

“An Exceptional St. Thomas Experience. It’s not enough that our students attend class, listen to lectures, and take tests. They must learn to love learning. The true goal of a St. Thomas

“Financial Stewardship. We are servant leaders not only in the classroom but in the business world. It is important we are a financially stable organizaton, intelligent and trusting with the money and resources that are offered to us. That belief must be continuously earned.

“Captivating Communication. We must reach a variety of constituents and engage the families who will make St. Thomas their future home.

“Facility Development. The new realities of secondary education must mirror our commitment to our students, tomorrow and five, 10, 15 years from now. We must fulfill the needs of education, athletics, and the arts.

“Tonight is an incredible night. The fulfillment of many promises made. Thank you for trusting St. Thomas to reach this moment. And we’re moving forward.”

“AND NOW WE PREPARE FOR OUR IMMEDIATE AND FAR FUTURE.”

MAGIC NUMBERS

I’M SO THANKFUL FOR THE IMPACT SO MANY OTHERS HAD ON ME.

THERE IS ONE ROAD THAT WILL ALWAYS REMAIN THE SAME.

It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. And its destination is somewhere they never

For Toronto Blue Jay Cavan Biggio ’13 and former MLB pitcher Jeff McCurry ’88, the return home was to receive a permanent place in St. Thomas lore. Biggio’s No. 23 and McCurry’s No. 17 were retired in January during a joyous celebration at the new and striking Fr. Wilson Field. A legion of family and friends, supporters and St. Thomas stakeholders shared in the vibrant festivities hosted by president Fr. James Murphy, athletic director Mike Netzel, and head coach Adam Massiatte.

“Coming to St. Thomas (from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School), I learned what kind of player I could be,” Cavan says. “I owe a lot to the coaches here and the school for establishing that confidence. This is where my journey started and accelerated. I’ll always be grateful.”

Biggio and McCurry joined Wade Simoneaux ’94, who fought a sixteen-year battle against ALS, and Fr. James Wilson, CSB with the ultimate salute from Eagle Athletics. Fr. Wilson served St. Thomas for more than fifty years as a legendary baseball coach, teacher, and administrator. An emphatic champion for amateur baseball in the city is the namesake for one of the premier on-campus high school baseball parks in Texas and the region.

The men of the moment shared more than the one-day ceremonial applause. Their accomplishments were charged by a collection of countless little choices. Everyday due diligence, sharpening their skills, marking something significant.

“There was so much effort and commitment that people didn’t see, by yourself in an empty gym or at home, any exercise for an advantage,” McCurry says. “It can be exhaustive. But that’s what separates those who move on and those who tap out.”

McCurry was a sensational two-sport standout collecting a heady heap of national scholarship offers including Big East basketball and beyond. He hedged that baseball would prove the better bet. McCurry initially opted for TCU, then transferred to power San Jacinto College where he pitched for legendary College Hall of Fame coach Wayne Graham during a nationally dominant championship run.

McCurry was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990, debuted with the organization five years later, and made major league stops with the Tigers, Rockies, and Astros before calling his career to a close in his hometown after the 1999 season. He then crafted a two-decade investment profession as first vice president and senior financial advisor with Merrell Lynch. And in the previous decade, McCurry has served as a savvy and invaluable pitching coach for Eagle Baseball.

“I’m so thankful for the impact so many others had on me,” McCurry says. “I’m not here representing only myself. To have my family, particularly my wife Renee, share in this recognition makes it so much more meaningful. It tugs at my heart.”

The Biggio band was bonded yet again through St. Thomas. Craig, Patty, and brother Conor ’11 were alongside Cavan, swirling in a diamond daze far removed from when the two brothers tag-teamed for a pair of Eagle state championships with their forever Astros icon and National Baseball Hall of Fame father as the bench boss and then added a third state final appearance and fourth trip to the state tournament. Cavan was also part of the USA Baseball 18U National Team that won the International Baseball Federation Junior AAA World Championship in Seoul, South Korea.

Through a standout stay at Notre Dame and into his sixth season with the Blue Jays, Cavan has long grown accustomed to performing with the legendary surname branded on his back, making him a visible target for the inevitable comparisons to the seven-time All-Star who fronted a star-crossed and success-starved franchise for 20 years. Biggio the Older remains one of only 33 big leaguers to rack 3,000 hits and the only one to add 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases, and 250 home runs. He is the only MLB player to be awarded Silver Slugger Awards as a catcher and second baseman.

“Cavan has so much to be proud of in his own right,” Craig says. “He’s never been a big talker but always a great listener. And he’s been a worker like he continues to be today.

He’s a grinder, taking that ethic he had as a kid, into high school, college, and pro ball. It’s fun to see the success that he’s having.”

Cavan admits to “always dreaming of becoming a major league player. I so appreciate my many opportunities. I never try to take for granted what I’ve been given.”

Biggio and McCurry were built through determination and drive.

Passion and pride.

Built from hopes. Dreams. And what-ifs.

Built to inspire, even amaze.

Built for challenges. To break new ground. Be the one who dared.

Built for glory.

The two St. Thomas luminaries left campus as living Eagle legends and then avoided what is often an awkward dismount of trying to figure out how to extend the story. Their triumphs had nothing to do with the fairy tale of going from home to high school to the major leagues. They were imbued with an insatiable competitive desire.

The terrific twosome traveled the difficult climb of most resistance and ascended to the most rarefied heights afforded an Eagle student-athlete.

THIS IS WHERE MY JOURNEY STARTED AND ACCELERATED. I’LL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL.

REWARDED REWARDED REWARDED

Evan Psencik ’05 is divinely driven by the strength of his Catholic faith. And just as readily relates to the Yiddish adage “Mann tracht, un Gott lacht.”

“MAN PLANS, AND GOD LAUGHS.”

TRANSLATION“MAN PLANS, AND GOD LAUGHS.”

The dynamic first-year principal at St. Dominic Savio High School in burgeoning north Austin required much more than superior credentials, a commanding personality, and a TomTom Go Discover GPS to navigate the long and winding and often unpredictable road to a dream career destination.

It took God’s calling. Patience. And trust.

And now Psencik, without a hint of self-interest attention, or validation, is flashing a vision that is both dedicated and spectacular.

Savio is the first Catholic high school in its rapidly exploding suburb. The 45-acre campus officially opened on August 31, 2009, with 86 students and has steadily grown to more than 400. In 2013, the Diocese of Austin created a shared governance model between Savio and Holy Family Catholic School to work collaboratively. Savio is also served by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist as teachers and in various campus ministry-related activities.

“The one-on-one engagement during the interview on campus emphasized two things that sold me,” Psencik says. “The family atmosphere is absolutely real. And the Catholic identity is truly authentic. The presence of the Dominicans is such a positive element on campus. It was a true blessing when I received the call with the opportunity.”

Timothy Cullen is the joint president of Savio and Holy Family and says “Evan was the clear choice to become our new leader. He came across as a caring, faith-filled educator who wanted to be part of a school that believed in being the best it could be in all areas. He was consistent in his message, sincerity, and energy. Since his arrival, Evan has lived his words and demonstrated the skills we hoped for in his actions. He’s infused the importance of his relationship with Christ in all of his communications.”

Psencik followed his brother Adam ‘00 to St. Thomas and excelled in the rigorous math and science programs. The predictable academic projections called for an engineering track. He was accepted into the honors program at the University of Houston and quickly was hammered with a stunning revelation with the once-upona-time force of a Mike Tyson fistfight to the floor.

“I hated engineering.”

Psencik changed his major to math to launch a teaching career but his quandary remained unchanged. Unsure and lacking confidence in plotting his future he “finally prayed to God and asked for his guidance and felt a calling of sorts. I had been in Catholic school my entire life and was always intrigued by theology, so I adjusted my major again to become a theology teacher.”

Psencik also flipped schools, transferring to the University of St. Thomas with designs on returning to his high school alma mater and joining the faculty. However ...

On the brink of graduation and placing his strategy in play, Psencik was presented with an alternative option. He was hired by his family parish St. Edward Catholic School in Spring for their thriving youth ministry program. After four years of substantive work, he vaulted to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in their office of Evangelization and Catechesis as associate director.

Life’s express bullet train accelerated with marriage to Cynthia in 2015, a move to Connecticut and a ministry position with the Bridgeport Diocese, a teaching and coaching position at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, a Master of Science in Administration and Supervision from Fordham University. All to land back near family, friends, and home as a high school principal.

Of course.

“God took me on an unforseen path,” Psencik says. “When I heard his call I thought I would become a theology teacher. Then I was somewhere else for 10 years, then back to teaching, and now full circle back to Texas. All according to plan. His plan.

“I was doing things my way and it wasn’t really working. I believe God is always very clear about where he wants me to be in real-time. Living in Connecticut? Teaching in the Bronx?

Principal of a Catholic school in Austin? None of that was the original blueprint. I had to believe.”

While at Spellman, Psencik proved to be a gifted theology educator who demonstrated cutting-edge educational practices while relating to his students’ life experiences. “Our enrollment was about 1,200, 70 percent students of color, less than 50 percent Catholic. Many had no idea of faith or God so it was a great opportunity to evangelize.”

His Masters requirements at Fordham also demanded an administrative internship in addition to his academic and athletic responsibilities at Spellman. “I gained an understanding of affecting students through the faculty as opposed to the strict classroom impact. Empowering and developing teachers is essential in supporting a student’s growth and pathway to a college education.”

Psencik inherited established success at Savio with a growing student body and dedicated, experienced staff. He respects that a stable, long-term faculty is a key determinant of student achievement. He is constantly absorbed, fostering an environment that provides creativity and freedom, constructive feedback, and individualized tutelage.

And perhaps most critically, Psencik is fortifying a culture by understanding the exhausting, draining, all-encompassing, exhilarating powers of the profession colliding all at once with the rewards rooted in the satisfaction of seeing young men and women learn. “I’m intentional in individual communication and building relationships. Strong connections at every level create effective leadership.”

In many ways, Psencik is replicating many of the meaningful elements of his St. Thomas student experience into his drive at Savio for unmatched pedagogy and tireless commitment to mentorship.

“I always felt the St. Thomas campus community wanted what was best for me and my classmates,” he says. “We lived our faith daily through Masses and retreats, and that impacted me greatly through my own faith journey. The environment was so positive and my goal is to instill much the same at St. Dominic.”

Evan met Cynthia through their shared passion for youth ministry. Her position with the Archdiocese of New York necessitated their relocation to Connecticut. She’s now involved with the Washington, D.C.-based Catholic not-for-profit The Given Institute which is dedicated to “activating the gifts of young adult women for the Catholic Church and the world.”

Theirs is a dual dose of creativity, humanity, and empathy to maximize opportunity for others, now and into the near future. Their life journey unfolded with amazing detours if not washed-out bridges, certainly people and places Psencik never imagined. Ultimately, he didn’t need to know the route, or even how he would reach the destination, simply a view of what he was searching. And a plan. God’s plan.

He’s now riveted by every new dawn. True to self in equal measure to the depths of his Catholic faith. Not for personal achievement or acclaim but for servant leadership.

“It’s priceless. No amount of money can provide what I have right in front of me.”

BODY AND SOUL NOURISHING

St. Thomas theology faculty member

Danny Hernandez ’08 has built his career and philanthropy around the principles of social justice, community service, and entrepreneurial spirit.

He mentors emphasizing those same ideals to Eagle scholars who want to make a better world and find solutions to important issues such as homelessness.

Hernandez consistently searches for off-campus service components to support discussion topics relating to deprivation and human trafficking. His multi-tier goals relating to the dialogue are to raise awareness through education, show solidarity with those in particular need, and take immediate action. Affecting short-term relief may ignite long-term solutions that address systemic causes.

Understanding Through Service

The latest step for Hernandez in a growing movement to bring an academic side to social activism was returning for a four-day student immersion into a crisis on the streetshomelessness in Los Angeles.

For the second consecutive year during the Thanksgiving holiday season, a select group of St. Thomas senior scholars was inspired with an appreciation for all the many blessings life has bestowed on them. Instead of flooding stores and retail websites on America’s so-called Black Friday to grab never-say-die deals in the spirit of materialism, the St. Thomas contingent - William Bone, Holt Brickley, Samuel Brooks, Benjamin Brown, Lyle Clanton, Miles Dominey, Cooper Drinkard, Luke Gilbert-Smith, Owen Hartley, Theodore Pastorius, Adrian Pruneda, Ricardo Requena, Thomas Roberson, Michael Rodriguez, Kyle Scheffler, Billy Theroux, Benjamin Tran, Stephen Visintine, and Jake Wakil along with Hernandez and dean of theology Andrew Quittenton - contributed to something much larger than themselves.

Mission of Redemption

The venture fuels Hernandez and his passion for creating an understanding and empathy for the street population and squalor often hidden in plain sight. He enterprised the student-driven participation in conjunction with his Social Justice curriculum. The sojourn through Skid Row, Homeboy Industries, and the Los Angeles Mission provided riveting accounts of the raw reality evident every dayunsheltered people, often suffering from abandonment, mental illness, drug addiction, struggling to stay safe and stay alive.

Homeboy Industries was founded by Fr. Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest with more than three decades of ministry to gang members in Los Angeles. The local saint of unconditional compassion stokes a mission of redemption and the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the United States. His vision has morphed into a series of businesses including a restaurant, a bakery, a cafe, and farmers’ markets created to provide optimism, training, and support to previously incarcerated and gang-involved men and women.

Hernandez is driven by Fr. Boyle’s genuine concerns and actions to create lasting solutions to gang violence - people reinventing their lives in forward-thinking, social enterprise endeavors. His book Tattoos on the Heart honed on his work in the ghetto and a breathtaking series of parables galvanized by his faith is a staple in Hernandez’s Social Justice teachings.

During the 2021 academic year, the St. Thomas community engaged in Fr. Boyle’s compelling testimony and riveting example of dedication to God through service to others. He delivered a stirring talk, first to Eagle students, faculty, and staff, and later to St. Thomas parents and supporters hoping that the interaction and dialogue would invigorate and inspire the school’s collective spirit to provide relief wherever they may encounter deprivation.

Nourishing Body and Soul

The students’ daily 4:00 a.m. alarms signaled the start of preparing breakfast at the Dolores Mission Church and serving low-income families in Fr. Boyle’s East Los Angeles neighborhood.

Hernandez and his students also met with Craig Mitchell, an 18-year Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge who founded the Skid Row Running Club. This nonprofit organization provides a support system for people recovering from addiction and homelessness in the Los Angeles Skid Row neighborhood. Judge Mitchell’s message: “Don’t sell out to just making money. If you’re not living for others, you’re not really living. What profit is there in gaining the whole world only to lose your souls.”

Creativity and Compassion

Earlier in the 2023 fall semester, Hernandez and director of student life Joe O’Brien organized and executed a series of student-led participations at Martha’s Soup Kitchen and Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen. The efforts helped provide an interdisciplinary look at poverty to understand the forces that maintain it and the forces that resist it.

“Students can be presented with a high volume of facts and textbook examples of poverty but what they experience firsthand is much more powerful,” Hernandez says. “I wanted that practical component outside the classroom.”

Martha’s Kitchen was founded in 2002 by St. Martha Catholic Church in Kingwood. The ministry serves the Second Ward in the city’s East End. Sister Carmen Sanchez assumed the director position in January 2019 and collaborates with a mix of full-time employees and 20-plus volunteers who prepare and serve meals each Monday through Friday, as well as providing grocery programs.

The unsheltered population is drawn to Martha’s Kitchen, the same as to Loaves & Fishes, desiring basic needs or a fast lunch. Students quickly discovered that within extensive urban redevelopment and the burgeoning high-quality, mixed-use environment is a view on the streets telling a different story.

“The students accepted the involvement without judgment,” Hernandez says. “The mission was to feed the hungry, no questions asked. You come. We will feed you regardless of the circumstances.”

Giving without seeking reward.

Embracing a personal responsibility of each individual, based on talents and gifts, to contribute to the common good.

At the same time, promoting a culture of social justice that can flourish when society removes barriers so that each person can contribute fully to the betterment of that society.

Champions For Change

Hernandez was introduced to Fishes & Loaves during his sophomore year as a St. Thomas student. As that and similar connections continue, he has seized the responsibility that institutions of higher education have to better the human condition of all people.

Previously, Hernandez teamed with Eagle fathers Rafael Garcia and Ed Cordes as the driving forces in leading St. Thomas students representing diverse religious backgrounds to aid the under-served in Honduras.

“For me, service is such an important element in building young men of good character,” Hernandez says. “This is proactive goodness in (the Basilian credo) Teach Me Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge. Applying that context outside the classroom is essential. At the end of the day, these students are seeking opportunities to give back, and to do good in their communities. The best I can do as a teacher is help provide that chance.”

Hernandez is boldly extending the St. Thomas legacy of service, appealing to his senior scholars through activism, volunteerism, and community-based learning.

Embracing a personal responsibility for each individual, based on talents and gifts, to contribute to the common good. And at the same time, promoting a culture of social justice that can flourish when society removes barriers so that each person can contribute fully to the betterment of that society. Human dignity. A call to family.

FOR ME, SERVICE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN BUILDING YOUNG MEN OF GOOD CHARACTER.

TAKE A BOW

The St. Thomas Alumni Association routinely honors prestigious Eagle graduates as well as significant stakeholders to the school and community for their professional achievements, personal sacrifices, outstanding leadership, and exemplary contributions to Basilian college preparatory education.

The Most Rev. Brendan Cahill ’81, Bishop of Victoria, was celebrated prior to the final regular season game for Eagle Football, along with exceptional members of the St. Thomas faculty, Joe O’Brien and Philip Cuneo. The distinguished trio has brought substantial merit to the renowned institution through their diligence, ethics, and virtue, which enlightens collective understandings and fuels the advancement of society.

“I’ve been thinking about the impact of my many St. Thomas teachers and classmates,” an enthusiastic Cahill said in October. “Louis Swilley in English. Jerry Taliaferro in World and United States History. Paul Rashard bringing us in on Saturdays to watch Jesus of Nazareth. The Basilian priests, our parents, and the Mothers’ Club were all so involved, a force to be reckoned with during my years. I was so blessed to have had such support. In my mind, they are also being honored here tonight.”

FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, O’BRIEN AND CUNEO HAVE FURTHERED THE BASILIAN MISSION AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY OF THE SCHOOL IN A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS, ARTISTS, AND PROFESSIONALS DEDICATED TO THE PURSUIT OF TEACH ME GOODNESS, DISCIPLINE, AND KNOWLEDGE.

They consistently carried themselves beyond the accepted teaching and administrative responsibilities, bringing vision and enthusiasm, benefiting all.

Their sustained commitment to scholars through outstanding mentoring and passionate pedagogy has demonstrated the valued role such involvement plays in helping students reach their academic and spiritual goals.

O’Brien is the Director of Student Life while Cuneo serves in the science faculty.

“I was never seeking this kind of attention but the response from colleagues and former students has been overwhelming,” O’Brien says. “This brings a certain validation that my work has been meaningful and touched people’s lives. I have always strived to make the St. Thomas community a better place than I found it. I’m humbled.”

Cueno says “if I have contributed anything to St. Thomas it’s because of the people before me. Isaac Newton once said, ‘I stand on the shoulders of giants.’ And that’s me. (Former principal) Father Albert Gaelens. Former dean Dr. Ed Marintsch. So many others including my good friend Joe O’Brien. We have commiserated throughout the decades about teaching and impacting students. I am here tonight because of the great relationships at St. Thomas that have made me who I am.”

Cuneo and O’Brien share common ground outside of their St. Thomas experience. O’Brien is originally from New Orleans and earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of St. Thomas where Cuneo received his Masters in Education after earning his Bachelor of Science from the University of New Orleans.

Cueno’s introduction to St. Thomas was the 1989-90 academic year. O’Brien had already been on board since 1987 but only through some serendipitous circumstances that would suggest that Denzel Washington’s movie screen Equalizer was indeed correct - “We all end up where we’re supposed to be.”

“Father James Gaunt passed me in a car on campus,” O’Brien recalls in almost disbelief from his final days as an undergraduate. “He backed up to tell me there was a job opening to check out at St. Thomas High School. The next day, he finds me at lunch and says, ‘What are you doing? You have an interview at St. Thomas at 1:00 p.m. Go upstairs and shave. I’m going to take you there.’ He drove me to meet the principal, Fr. (Charles) Christopher. I walked out of his office with the job, wondering what the hell just happened. It was the grace of God. I had no intentions of staying here in Houston.

“I was in charge of Key Club in those first years, a service organization. I’ve recently returned to those roots and feel rejuvenated. The reward is having the students see Jesus Christ in as many forms as possible. Now I am reaching the sons of young men whom I taught years ago, seeing those wonderful families take shape. What a blessing.”

Cuneo echoes much the same sentiment: “I have grown in my spirituality during these years because of the support I’ve received within the St. Thomas community. It pervades throughout campus and the student body. That’s what means the most to me personally.”

After graduating from St. Thomas, Bishop Cahill enrolled at Rice University for one year and then entered St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston in 1982.

Following ordination for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in 1990, Bishop Cahill served as parochial vicar of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Houston until 1992 and then Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring until 1994. He earned his Master of Theology with a specialization in African-American Catholic Studies from Xavier University in New Orleans, then his Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology in 1996 and Doctorate in Fundamental Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1999.

In 2015, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo ordained Bishop Brendan as the third Bishop of Victoria.

Since assuming his position, the Most Rev. Cahill has served on the sub-committee on African-American Affairs of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops and as a consultor for the USCCB’s Pro-Life Committee. He joined the Communities of Faith in Victoria with other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders and has been an active supporter of the Gulf Bend Center Coalition for Mental Health.

Throughout his near decade long tenure in Victoria, Bishop Cahill has committed to what he passionately describes as “family evangelization” as the bedrock of his ministry, the prism from which he shepherds his collective congregation - 50 parishes and 17 missions, more than 103,990 registered Catholics within 10 counties, and a population of 293,729.

“We’ve started a family counseling center that has proven to be a significant resource,” Bishop Cahill says. “It’s a stressful world in which we live. We’ve initiated a rosary congress with a devotion to the Virgin Mary and the Eucharist. Our families praying together is beautiful, for peace, for privation for sin, for trusting God’s mercy. I believe in building relationships with people more so than facilities. It may be a harvest Mass in Weimer at a winery for the farmers or reaching out to the thousands who were hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. We listen to one another and console each other and raise each other to greater heights.”

S

upreme appreciation to the St. Thomas community for their overwhelming support of our annual Auction & Gala, honoring Steve Green ’68 for his decades of selfless, impactful philanthropy.

The annual celebration applauds and honors the relentless Basilian commitment to innovative scholarship and the deeper purposes of Catholic higher education.

The Grease flashback theme was a bash in nostalgia, times two - the days and nights sharing in John Travolta’s Danny and Olivia Newton-John’s Sandy summer beach idyll turned sour and the rousing ride into hopeless devotion.

You remember. Rizzo. Frenchy. Kenickie. Trials and tribulations of teenage angst, love, and heartbreak. In short, high school.

But true-to-life devotion was felt for St. Thomas by the enthusiastic overflow crowd of stakeholders, supporters, donors, Eagle Family and friends. They got chills. That were multiplyin’. Losing control. Cause the power that was supplying turned electrifyin’.

Tell me about it stud.

Reckling Gymnasium and Cemo Auditorium were filled in November with sharp, rhythmic 1950s motifs.

Style with considerable vigor and substance. Cool-kid posturing held to a minimum. The event was seamlessly spearheaded by this years’ Auction chairs Liz Brown, Cheryl Dzurec, Maria Morfin, and Maru Prunada.

Special gratitude to our legion of volunteers led by Director of Special Events, Gretchen Penny and Vice President for Advancement Mark deTranaltes ’83.

And in strict St. Thomas tradition, always a grand time had by all. All in all, they got groove. They got meaning. The time, the place, the motion, the way they were feeling.

The word.

A GRADE ABOVE

William Wittman ’24 and Campbell Brown ’24 have earned semifinalist acclaim in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The two exemplary scholars are being considered for 7,250 Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 million - National Merit $2,500 Scholarships; corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards; and College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.

THE TWO EXEMPLARY SCHOLARS ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR 7,250 MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS WORTH

Approximately 1.3 million students participated in this year’s competition. Semifinalists were chosen based on scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The cutoff score in Texas was 219, the minimum index score out of 228, which is roughly equivalent to 1490 on the full SAT.

Najja Mosley ’25 and Edward Bocock ’25 were selected for the National African American Recognition Program, and nine St. Thomas scholars were named to the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program. Invitation for the honors was extended to students who scored in the top 2.5 percent among Hispanic and Latino PSAT/NMSQT test-takers in the region.

The latest group bringing the St. Thomas total to 51 in the previous seven years includes:

» Eric Curran ’25

» Juan Pablo Fonseca ’25

» Thomas Higginbotham ’24

» Dylan Martinez ’25

» Tristan Moguel ’25

» Jayden Morfin ’24

» Pablo Ramirez ’24

» Nicolas Requenes ’25

In the 2023 acadedmic year, Austin Burke ’23 (Rice Univeristy) and Damian Wilson ’23 (University of Notre Dame) were awarded National Merit $2,500 Scholarships as Finalists in the 68th annual program.

These current results confirm St. Thomas as a leading college preparatory experience in Texas and a top-10 Catholic institution in the region. Much of a student’s readiness stems from learning opportunities as freshmen and sophomores. St. Thomas builds on those experiences to provide students with a robust application and pedagogy for the SAT, a critical component in becoming a Finalist.

Sponsored by the not-for-profit National Merit Scholarship Corp, the program requires applicants to submit an extensive application that includes recommendations and an essay along with their academic record and subsequent SAT scores, school and community involvement, employment, as well as demonstrations of leadership and awards.

QUEST FOR THE BEST

St. Thomas is proud to celebrate the latest champion scholars earning membership in its prestigious chapter of the National Honor Society.

Commemorating more than 100 years of saluting the nation’s most acclaimed students, the NHS is recognized as the nation’s premier organization rewarding high school students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, service, leadership, and character - the four pillars of the NHS since its beginnings.

The St. Thomas inductees maintain a superior academic performance while engaging in rigorous college preparatory and Advanced Placement courses. Members are expected to maintain their acclaimed standing and mentor underclassmen while selflessly making a difference in the world, no matter where they are.

The St. Thomas NHS officers for the 2023-24 academic year are president Campbell Brown ’24, vice president Stephen Visintine ’24, secretary Samuel Brooks ’24, treasurer Adrian Pruneda ’24, and parliamentarian Deldon Sivakumar ’24.

The 48 newly inducted NHS members include:

» Paul Anderson ’25

» George Baba ’25, Edward Bocock ’25, Ryan Bordas ’25, and Peter Bryant ’25

» Erike Carreira ’24, Keller Case ’25, Benjamin Castano ’25, and Champion Courville ’25

» Cooper Davis ’25

» Juan Fonseca ’25

» Charles Garza ’25 and James Glenn III ’25

» Zachary Haine ’25

» Dane Hunt ’25

» Alex Jenks ’25

» Milam Jones ’25

» Trace Langin ’25, Evan Levy ’25, Landon Lord ’25, and William Luckow ’25

» Dylan Martinez ’25, Mathew Michael ’25, and Najja Mosley ’25

» Michael Nomura ’25

» Roberto Pacini ’25, Theodore Pastorius ’24, Charles Pedley ’25, Samuel Phillips ’25, and Aidan Pulido ’25

» Pablo Ramirez ’24, Jack Reid ’25, and Thomas Rzasnicki ’25

» Mario Salinas ’25, Tyler Sandrock ’24, Ryley Sauvinet ’25, John Simoneaux ’25, Nicholas Strickler ’25, and Benjamin Sweeney ’25

» Benjamin Temple ’25 and Blaine Turner ’25

» Preston Underbrink ’25

» Evan Wagner ’25, Andrew Wight ’24, Evan Wisnoski ’25, and Colin Wu ’24

» Nickolas Yankowsky ’25

» Nicholas Zakarevicz ’25

THIS IS SIGNIFICANT PRESTIGE THAT DEMONSTRATES THE DEPTH OF THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT THRIVING WITHIN ST. THOMAS

These acclaimed students joined 49 fellow Eagles from the Class of 2024 who had previously demonstrated the ability to excel, serve, lead, and succeed with a genuine quest for challenge and accomplishment.

» Gunther Blencke, William Bone, Nicolas Borin, Brooks, Brown, and William Brown

» Cade Church, Lyle Clanton, Aidan Clark, Noa Clifford, and Manuel Cohen

» Jacob Davidson, Michael De Jesus, Lucas De Meritt, Frank Dejarnette, and Alessandro Diaz

» Levi Finkelman

» Walker Green

» Owen Hartley, Thomas Higginbotham, Hayden Hoover, and William Hosman

» Rafael Joseph

» Peter Kaul

» George Lane, Benjamin Lauzon, and Rhys Lloyd

Involvement in the NHS is an exclusive responsibility, with students expected to continue to reflect society’s high standards, as well as serve the school and their fellow students as academic leaders, ambassadors, and tutors.

Science faculty member Dr. Claire Conboy played a pivotal role in determining the deep St. Thomas NHS participation in her second year as chapter advisor.

“This is significant prestige that demonstrates the depth of the academic achievement thriving within St. Thomas,” Dr. Conboy says. “We are about developing and nurturing our students to reach their potential not only through curriculum but as vibrant contributors to society.

» Patrick McCarthy, Charles Molineaux, Sam Moore, Jayden Morfin, and Philip Morrison

» David Neason, Daniel Neason, and Antoine Nguyen

» Ernest Oppermann

» Samuel Peters, Simon Pham, and Pruneda

» John Rickert

» Patrick Schloegel, Miguel Sequeira, and Sivakumar

» Benjamin Thoede

» Alex Tidwell

» James Ulm

» Visintine

» Jake Wakil and William Wittman

And this honor provides a guiding light for all our young men of what is attainable and what should be pursued.”

Previously, Wittman and Campbell Brown earned semifinalist acclaim in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program while Mosley and Bocock were selected for the National African American Recognition Program.

Fonseca, Higginbotham, Martinez, Morfin, and Ramirez were among nine St. Thomas scholars who were named to the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program.

ACTS OF FAITH

The St. Thomas campus community was blessed to celebrate its annual Mother/Son Mass honoring the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast vividly displays the beauty, coherence, awe, and wisdom of God’s plan, that life is in His providential hands.

The morning liturgy in Reckling Gymnasium was an affirmation of faith recognizing the great joy of God’s gift to humanity in Mary. The congregation was asked to consider with greater clarity the truth that God has created each and every human being to fulfill a particular mission that only they may fulfill.

Following Mary’s supreme example, we are called to do nothing less than repeat her words in response to the Angel Gabriel’s greeting - “May it be done in me according to Thy will.” - and embrace our vocation to fulfill the mission prepared for us since before the beginning of time.

In 1854, Pope Pius IX’s solemn declaration, “Ineffabilis Deus,” clarified with finality the long-held belief of the Church that Mary was conceived free from original sin. Mary was granted this extraordinary privilege because of her unique role in history as the Mother of God. That is, she received the gift of salvation in Christ from the very moment of her conception. Even though Mary is unique in all humanity for being born without sin, she is held up by the Church as a model in her willingness to accept the plan of God for her and completely direct her life toward Him and others.

Father/Son Mass

St. Thomas also traditionally honors the spiritual bond that unites Eagle scholars and their fathers with a morning liturgy and affirmation of faith that speaks to the very fabric of the school’s Basilian identity.

November 1 celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, an annual observance dedicated to remembering, honoring, and being inspired by the lives of past saints and martyrs who now stand in glory of the beatific vision.

The Most Reverend Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston, served as the principal celebrant in Reckling Gymnasium with St. Thomas President Fr. James Murphy, CBS the concelebrant. Since 2015, Bishop Dell’Oro has served the Archdiocese as Vicar for Clergy and the Secretariat Director for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services. He was named Vicar General in 2021.

Vice President for Advancement Mark deTranaltes ’83 continued the solemn All Saints Day tradition acknowledging St. Thomas alumni who had passed in the previous 12 months, those who have gone before in the Eagle Family, destined for judgment, some renowned but infinitely more simple and hidden who through everyday holiness helped carry the world forward.

The Meaning and the History

The feast is dedicated to those who have been recognized by the Church as saints, as well as those who have not been canonized yet attained heaven.

The origin dates to the earliest centuries of the Church when Christians commemorated the many martyrs who died at the hands of their Roman persecutors. Those facing death for Christ include a modern-day St. Thomas alumni who enrolled

Ultimate Sacrifice

Fr. William Woods, MM ’49 was killed along with four American civilian passengers November 20, 1976, in the crash of his small plane in Guatemala. He had been a member of the Central American Region since ordination with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in June 1958.

Fr. Woods was working on several humanitarian projects aimed at obtaining land for the otherwise landless poor of the mountains of Huehuetenango. A 10-year program of enormous scope, it involved the resettlement of several thousand families, the introduction of community development techniques, and the training of local leaders for the people involved. As a pilot, Fr. Woods provided air transport for the elderly and sick, and those otherwise incapable of traveling overland.

Fr. Woods was also involved in an enterprise on the outskirts of Guatemala City, designed to alleviate the housing shortage brought about by a disastrous earthquake.

At the time of Fr. Wood’s death, the cause of the crash was not completely reported other than “under suspicious circumstances.” There is a belief that his exhaustive missionary efforts and extensive apostolic work of the Church ran contrary to the government’s agenda and his plane was shot down. Fr. Woods is buried in Huehuetenango with a monument at the site.

When notified of his death in 1976, his mother said, “He died just as he lived, working with his people.”

Taking Notice Today

In 2006, Pope Benedict posed the question, “Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this solemnity (All Saints’ Day), mean anything to the saints?”

“A famous homily of St. Bernard for All Saints’ Day begins with this question,” he said. “It could equally well be asked today.”

St. Bernard offered that “the saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs ... But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning’ (Disc. 2, Opera Omnia Cisterc. 5, 364ff.).

Pope Benedict then shared that “this is the meaning of the Solemnity - looking at the shining example of the saints to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them. Happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family of God’s friends.”

EASY AS PIE

You gotta be cool and comfortable with a new-wave, old-school, no-thrills, seatless South San Antonio pizza joint with two employees and a phone.

The curiosity is warranted because the fare is ab fab, all a neighborhood spot should be: friendly, deviating from drab and decidedly delicious, dedicated to straightforward, select ingredients while paying homage to the vintage slice shops from the past thriving into the future.

n the morning hours of daily pizza par excellence, Dusty Dworak ’13 can be found in a nondescript storefront commencing his labor of love - combining organic flour, water, and sea salt. Twice a day he feeds the mother culture that produces a naturally leavened, chewy, slightly sour crust.

“Great bread baking is the bedrock to push the pizza experience,” Dusty boasts with enthusiasm. “No commercial yeast.”

Once Dworak tosses and lays dough over a 16-inch pan, he slightly overlaps a single layer of fresh mozzarella. His tomato sauce couldn’t be simpler: raw, crushed, canned Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, organically grown and vine-ripened in California.

Dworak deals exclusively with Texas-sourced suppliers such as Dos Lunas Cheese, South Texas Seasonals, and Barton Springs Mill. He selects whole pork shoulders from Peaceful Pork in Fredricksburg (a rare exception to the factory farming trend) for his signature sausage: meat, fennel, garlic, salt, and black pepper. “The only way I was going to do it was to buy from a farmer I know and

The toppings also include pepperoni, ricotta, crimini mushrooms, or pickled serrano peppers.

To cut costs, Dusty and his partner in pie (and life) Victoria Moreno chased down a somewhat battered Blodgett gas deck oven in Wisconsin and hauled home (24-hour drive round trip). What it lacks in romance and extreme heat it makes up for in control with lower BTU.

And unlike the New York City coal-burning cathedrals such as Lombardi’s, Arturo’s, and Grimaldi’s, “cheese is on bottom rather than on top so that the sauce flash cooks in the oven.

The result is minimalist, well-crafted perfection, crispy on the bottom, soft but not watery on the top, with deep charring along the edges. The final touches have Dworak shaving parmigiano reggiano cheese and adding extra-virgin olive oil over the pie from a needle-nosed squeeze-top bottle for rich, mouthwatering bites. That blistered, blackened crust is not something one leaves on the plate.

All smart, thoughtful, different, divinely delicious. Welcome to Lovers Pizzeria. Everything one would desire from a start-up made to defy conventions in a franchise-filled genre built on them.

Dworak was a standout student-athlete at St. Thomas. His vaunted baseball crew included Cavan Biggio ’13, Justin Sebo ’13, and Hunter Pallasch ’13 and was supported mightily by Michael Rodgers ’14, Ben Condara ’14, and Rawlings Elam ’14. The riches with Astros luminary and National Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio head coaching were consecutive state titles and a state championship final among four straight semifinal appearances.

Dworak signed with the University of Texas at San Antonio, earned his degree in finance, and developed a taste for culinary distinction working before and after graduation at 2M Smokehouse on the city’s Eastside. Owner Esaul Ramos provided the tutorial fresh from his own grooming at La Barbeque in Austin. Once Dworak honed his skills, he succeeded his mentor as lead pitmaster, churning out spicy bark brisket with a fine balance of smoky and beefy flavor.

“I was hired four months in and the first person that wasn’t part of the family,” Dusty says. “Trim, smoke, slice the meats. Awesome training in a small setting. Learned how and what to learn, including executing the business side.”

Dworak reveals he “fell in love with BBQ and figured I would open a shop one day.” He was soon seduced by a siren not named Victoria.

Midway through his five-year stay with 2M, Dworak journeyed with a friend to New York City where there’s been pizza for as long as there has been pizza anywhere in the country.

“GREAT BREAD BAKING IS THE BEDROCK TO PUSH THE PIZZA EXPERIENCE”

His ad-lib tasting tour began at John’s of Bleecker St. on the West Side, initially opened in 1929 on Sullivan Street by immigrant Giovanni Sasso from Naples, Italy. Dusty slid into an old-style original wooden booth to savor a classic square slice before darting down the street to Joe’s, still supervised by Joe, the founder in 1975, for large, foldable, and cinematically cheesy creations. Then to Prince Street Pizza north of Little Italy where the specialty is pepperoni-heavy chunks that have routinely permeated the social media zeitgeist.

After a year of living deliciously following his pizza epiphany, Dworak returned to the NYC mecca with Victoria and then the two charted a separate pilgrimage to Philadelphia for an odyssey more enlightening than Homer’s epic tale. Together they encountered another deep bench of pizzaiolos and wood-fired, Neapolitan-style bonafides. That experience led Dworak to later cold-calling Joe Beddia, the owner and inspiration behind Philly’s breakthrough Pizzeria Beddia, originally in the burgeoning Fishtown neighborhood.

“Joe not only invited me back for an inside look at his operation, he paid for my plane ticket and hotel during my stay,” Dusty says, still not comprehending the magnanimous gesture. “2M had gotten a ton of hype. He saw I was serious and understood there was nothing in San Antonio that could provide the same insight.

“Joe explained that Domenico DeMarco (founder, heart, and soul of Brooklyn’s famed Di Fara Pizza) viewed pizza like pasta. He originated (and insisted upon) scissor-cut fresh basil and olive oil garnish with extra cheese to finish. Through Joe from Dom, I learned to think flavors, not just toppings.”

To label Dusty as a newly minted pizza nerd was much too mild. More accurately, pizza obsessive without a hint of exaggeration. His not-so-sudden realization measured beyond technique and artisanal ingredients. The illumination was more philosophical. Zen. Identify a style. And the ultimate real lifechanging lesson for Dworak was that he could dedicate himself to one specialty, do it extremely well, and be successful.

Pizza compulsion could pay off.

Lovers staged its less than grand opening August 1 in the location once occupied by Carnitas Lonja. Alejandro Paredes (a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef) offered the space after relocating his tiny taqueria that shocked the local culinary scene with a focus almost exclusively on carnitas. Dworak is aiming to repeat the mojo by planting his stamp on America’s most popular food. He plotted an aggressive and prudent strategy with a mission-driven focus similar to his schoolboy baseball success.

Rather than relying on varying pitch selection and spin rates, the repertoire is a perfect ratio of sauce to cheese to toppings. Micro repetition and execution. Consistency forges the standard. Repeat ad infinitum. Ninety days into the enterprise, Dworak was excited to host a familiar, supporting presence from the past. St. Thomas Athletic Director Mike Netzel visited with delight prior to Eagle Football taking on San Antonio Antonian.

Even though a less-than-menacing physical presence on the mound, Netzel reminds that the then 150-pound Dusty “could shove with the competitive heart of Nolan Ryan.”

When quizzed if he pitched high and tight, the immediate response was “Absolutely. My favorite spot.” One was left imagining the flair of Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn via Major League, but harnessing more than occasional control. “I still remember my senior year pitching against Kohl Stewart (the 2013 fourth overall selection from St. Pius X). Matched him strike for strike and struck him out twice with inside fastballs.”

Dworak’s hunger for success today is just as deep as the schoolboy hardball chase. It’s merely a different commitment to the grind. He and Victoria are in lockstep valuing “being professional, every day on top of our game. That is the absolute truth. Everything flows from that attitude. It’s what running a business is all about.”

Victoria offers a wide array of contributions: prepping seasonings, deserts, and hand-crafted Italian sodas. If not working the register and embracing customers, it’s washing dishes.

“This was scary, texting with Devin Bear the other day. It’s about to be our 10-year reunion,” Dworak shared. “Our baseball group all grew up together, played together, and have stayed together. We were tight then and won big. Friends to this day. Time of my life.”

The tag team may be launching from humble designs but is fixed on flipping the city’s pizza world upside down with a nod to New York that traces to Naples, Verona, and Caiazzo, Campania.

“This neighborhood is finding us but the city has never had a pizza like this before, so we’re having to educate the audience as well as serving,” Dworak says. “Same exercise as I saw with 2M. I’m convinced this will find traction.

“I love the era of the slice shop. The person, the integrity, the character, all that established the legacy. The old guard won’t live forever. And there’s none of that presence here in Texas. My goal is that Victoria and I can channel the best of what they’ve done and introduce that tradition to a new market. That would be my dream come true.”

One pie, one toasty slice of heaven, at a time.

WHAT A RUSH

The lights emerged in August, intense klieg carbon arc beams, blinding and illuminating a clear path for the brilliance soon to be unbridled, the week-to-week conquering, mere mortal opposition left slack-jawed.

Eagle Football in the seventh season with head coach Rich McGuire thrusted out front throughout the fall, surging not for substantial or special but for perfectionthe program’s first unbeaten regular campaign since 2013 and only the second since 1939.

The exceptional symmetry between wunderkind quarterback Donte Lewis ’24 (Kansas St. baseball) and robust running back Johann Cardenas ’24 (Vanderbilt) allowed them to practically complete each other’s gridworld thoughts. The teen titans shared the shimmering schoolboy stage with war-daddy receivers Luke Edgecomb ’24 (Northern Arizona) and Larry Benton III ’24 (Vanderbilt). Bash brothers Tyler Day ’24 (Rice University), Dominic Ori ’24, and Aron Valentine ’24 (Angelo St.) led agents of defensive chaos bent on destruction with an attitude that infected the roster. The offensive line matured. Special teams

Most emphatically, when the games broke out of the phone booth and resorted to recess mode, teams were grasping for answers, because when the Eagles spread the field, no one could slow much less stop them.

Offensive coordinator Matt Hudson adheres to the adage that roughly half a dozen explosive opportunities are available per game and elite outfits must capitalize on the vast majority to realize championship-contending status.

St. Thomas stacked at least 42 points in eight of its 10 regular-season knocks. Outside the 28-13 verdict over Kinkaid in Week 6 that involved a 21-0 second-half breakout, Eagle Football piled 48 points per game with liberal substitution during a six-week stretch.

The three-week postseason pyrotechnics followed with a scalding 137 points.

The turbo-blast extravaganza propelled St. Thomas to the state’s no. 1 private rank for 10 straight polls by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. The soaring Eagles were the wire-to-wire no. 1 private in Greater Houston by the Houston Chronicle.

Consecutive convincing playoff knockouts at Hotze Field inside Granger Stadium raised the unchallenged win streak to a tantalizing 12. St. Thomas vaulted to its first state final since 2001. Eagle Nation was frothing at the notion of seizing the state crown last claimed in 1996.

It didn’t happen.

Crystal blue cloudless skies welcomed the Eagles to Waco for the high noon showdown, a rematch with four-time defending state champion Dallas Parish Episcopal. St. Thomas entered with a strut and make-my-day machismo, riveted to reverse the 2022 and 2019 state semifinal tussles both won by their new-found adversary, a pair of outcomes where Eagle Football ran low on octane and defensive resistance.

The man-beating, man-eating Edgecomb-Benton tandem emerged as the St. Thomas signature performers. If not reaching and falling for circus grabs, they were one-hand stabbing or glue-gripping and slashing for a combined 257 receiving yards, mostly after the catch or contact. The opening outburst from Lewis to Benton worth 44 yards set the tone. Cardenas rumbled with five straight carries to finish for a statement touchdown and instant advantage.

But the Cardenas beast was largely held in check and the Eagles were held scoreless to trail 19-7 midway through the third quarter. A sudden boost arrived from Edgecomb’s 21-yard reception and Benton’s 17-yard gain to the brink of the end zone. Cardenas’s second score closed the count to 19-14.

The Eagle suddenly discovered a “Kinda Dukish/Rockin’ in Rhythm” groove as if Duke Ellington & His Orchestra in Rotterdam in 1969.

After a three-and-out defensive slam, the fearless Lewis (20-28, 308 yards) conducted a signature five-play blitz to regain the lead. His third-down strike to Edgecomb crossing alone to the left pylon and immediate two-point payoff to Benton pushed St. Thomas in front 22-19 with 3:26 remaining in the period.

The much-needed adrenaline dose was not near enough

Parish Episcopal steamrolled for 21 unanswered points triggered by back-to-back Eagle turnovers deep in St. Thomas territory. In the final three minutes, Cardenas crafted his third score that punctuated his stellar senior sendoff with an absurd 33 touchdowns. But the 40-29 defeat to the reigning TAPPS kingpins left the Eagles collectively empty, if not irate. Rejection, heartbreak, text messages and social media confirming a brutal reality. The worst Eagle defeat since Hercules slew the foul beast who ate Prometheus’ liver every day.

But one week before, the quest for the best was alive and well, albeit minus blues guitar guru Johnny Winter amping the sublime soundtrack with syncopated single-note riffs and pentatonic-based phrasing.

The majestic Cardenas rammed and jammed, barreled and bullied for one of the colossal single performances in the history of Eagle Athletics - a jaw-dropping, mindnumbing, bone-crushing 459 yards rushing with a magnificent seven touchdowns. The thunderous effort catapulted St. Thomas past Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy 73-62 and into the state final.

His otherworldly, see and still not-believe rampage provided the most supreme, unrivaled, wildest, ultimate Black Friday deal of the century as the Eagles plastered a school record for points that continued their raucous playoff success.

Peak Cardenas gorged a holiday feast not seen since Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag dished out for the Pilgrims. The manchild of the moment racked more unstoppable runs than the army of Cortes after their first dinner in Tenochtitlan, a fury that was frighteningly entertaining to witness, a force of the storming Pacific surf relentlessly pounding rocks in Puget Sound. His life imitating PS4 pumped a shock and awe 24-7 advantage after the first quarter and a 38-20 bulge deep into the first half.

Prestonwood threatened to narrow the scoring spree to a two-possession gauntlet early in the fourth period when Edgecomb erupted into an unexpected two-way game-breaker. He raced untouched 102 yards down the left sideline with an end zone interception for the quicksilver score that dramatically flipped the see-saw momentum and a 52-27 advantage.

In the final furious and frenetic moments with no margin seemingly safe, Cardenas shoved aside would-be tacklers more violently than a coup d’état led by Claude François de Malet. He rolled for punishing romps of 56, 32, and 42 yards to the end zone in less than five minutes of game clock. Lions treated as if they were Christians versus Lions, if you will. Previously, the Eagles roared into the postseason out of the bye week to slap a so-long baby goodbye that would have stirred The Blasters.

The lethal weapon 3 of Cardenas, Lewis, and Edgecomb each took part in two touchdowns as undefeated St. Thomas crushed Dallas Bishop Lynch 35-17 in a regional final. Eagle Football never trailed to advance to the state semifinals for the second straight season and the third time in five years, along with 2015, 2014, and 2011.

A Lewis scoring dart to Benton kindled a 21-0 third-quarter blistering and placed the proceedings comfortably out of reach. Critical interceptions from Demarcus Batiste ’25 and Elijah Henry ’25 led directly to touchdowns from Edgecomb and Cardenas and an insurmountable 35-10 edge.

Cardenas (25 carries for 125 yards) dished a distinctive aperitivo to the night’s proceeding with a third-down nine-yard scoring blast to cap the initial possession. He then served a savory sprezzatura digestivo to rival a beautiful, complex Sicilian amaro with a TD plunge and comfortable cushion into the final stanza.

Throughout the rambunctious campaign, Cardenas smoldered with a sense of purpose that seemed palpable. He engineered a grand slam return after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in October 2022. After being rated in the preseason among the state’s top 100 football recruits and vividly showcased in the 64th edition of Texas Football, the irrepressible immovable Cardenas proved vastly superior to the hype. He stamped an outrageous 2,268 rushing yards in 11 games and 2,608 yards total. The final dumbstruck read of his better-than-fiction career - 4,743 rushing yards and 64 TDs, 131 yards per game, averaging 183 per his final two seasons with another 1,464 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Yet, it was Lewis who commanded Offensive Player of the Year from the Touchdown Club of Houston (page xx). The dual-threat dual-sport daredevil posted a gobsmacking 3,521 total yards and 42 touchdowns in a rollicking record-smashing 11-plus games. Lewis and Cardenas carried a swagger and charisma that compelled the crew to greater heights. Ferocious focus with sheer freedom, as if Denzel Washington’s righteous, revenging angel Robert McCall. The terrific twosome keyed a resounding season where Eagle Football was workin’, cookin’, and steamin’ with the fast-lane full-throttle fluidity of the Miles Davis Quintet (“Salt Peanuts” anyone?). A rapid weekto-week piece of molten improvisation.

McGuire raised his overall record to 55-24. The Touchdown Club Private Coach of the Year in 2020 has guided Eagle Football to 22 wins in its previous 25 games and 19 victories in its previous 20 games at home. Since 2018 they have been guardians of their galaxy with a 26-2 district record with four undefeated titles plus a share in 2021. In the previous three years, McGuire is 15-1 in the non-district with 11 straight triumphs.

The historic 2023 proportions will burrow into the subconscious and stay there for a good long while (Think Twin Peaks and its decades-later follow-up, Twin Peaks: The Return Further proof St. Thomas is reaching closer to the mountaintop. The less-than-thrilling finale didn’t invalidate or diminish those accomplishments.

As the season unpacks in the months ahead, a reality check will reveal where Eagle Football stands relative to the state elite. Tests like Parish Episcopal help indicate how far the program still must go. How long will it take before the Eagles are once again a few plays away? What is required to construct the team that makes those plays and goes even further?

Regardless how expeditious those answers, Johann and Donte graduate to the next level as scholar-athletes for whom a mononym suffices. The glittering overpowering duo exceeded the highest individual expectations with the sort of oomph that accompanied each angry run and break-away bolt. The pair without parallel elevated individually and their teammates to a position that mirrored their magnitude, the ability to amaze and marvel unmatched.

ROAD TO PERFECTION

ST. JOHN’S SCHOOL 49

EAGLE FOOTBALL 63

Daring quarterback Donte Lewis ’24 dropped a dizzy and delightful season debut, igniting an offensive tsunami that set a tenacious tone for the rest of the season. The dual-sport, dual-threat maestro orchestrated a megapixel display that maxed 382 yards passing and 353 rushing. The Kansas St. baseball signee took part in six touchdowns while flinging and romping for 499 total yards. Breakout receiver Luke Edgecomb ’24 (10 catches for 245 yards) and nuclear sub Keenan Bonner ‘24 (19 carries for 220 yards) flashed outrageous career-best nights in a St. Thomas rampage.

Offensive coordinator Matt Hudson whipped more creative casting choices than the second season of The Bear (think Jamie Lee Curtis as the erratic, emotionally overwhelming mother Donna Berzatto). His see-the-Matrix play-calling produced six scoring possessions that required four plays or less. The 735-yard onslaught was the most for Eagle Football during the seven-year Rich McGuire/Hudson tag team.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 35

LUMBERTON 20

The play-making magician Lewis mesmerized for the second straight Friday night, unleashing a barrage with receiver Larry Benton III ’24 that produced five touchdowns for a decisive road-opening win.

The Eagles never trailed, expanding the margin to 21-6 at halftime and 28-13 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter. The deadly Lewis-Benton duo - eight connections for 221 yards - sealed the outcome in the final four minutes with an arcing 31-yard pitch-and-catch through the right seam for their fifth and final scoring connection.

AUSTIN REGENTS 41 EAGLE FOOTBALL 51

Wrecking crew running back Johann Cardenas ’24 battered and bolted for 302 yards of total offense in his long-awaited return, while the charismatic Lewis detonated a pair of madcap, long-range touchdown explosions as the state’s no. 1 private by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine outlasted the no. 2 ranked outfit.

The robust brand of emotion and commotion featured a myriad of game-shifting plays. Lewis shredded an overmatched Regents defense for 294 passing yards and blazing touchdown runs for 61 and 65 yards. Cardenas road graded for 178 rushing yards with two touchdowns and danced 124 yards on eight receptions

The Eagles scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter for a commanding 30-14 lead and built three 17-pt advantages in the second half. The cosmetically close final produced considerably less drama and tension than an icy dose of “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” (given the aftermath of Jen Shah’s imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection to a telemarketing scheme).

PLANO JOHN PAUL II 3

EAGLE FOOTBALL 49

The catch-your-breath quarterback was part of five touchdowns and shared the star-studded evening with the Humvee running back for nearly 500 yards of total offense. No. 1 St. Thomas (4-0) flashed the most over under sideways down display since The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck manning a maple-wood Fender Esquire for his gloriously pushy pulsating Middle Eastern-tinged opening guitar line and the squirming riff behind the chorus. The Eagles required only 20 offensive snaps to rack its first six touchdowns and coasted with comfort to a fourth consecutive double-digit victory.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 28

THE KINKAID SCHOOL 13

The unrelenting Cardenas roared for 159 rushing yards with two touchdowns and a suddenly gnarly St. Thomas defense racked its second consecutive second-half shutout.

The state’s top-ranked Eagles (5-0) erased their first halftime deficit with a fast and furious finish to impress Dom Toretto. Cardenas took control in the third quarter with enough bang in the Eagles’ ying yang, zing in their zang zang, ting in their tang tang. He plowed five times in an 11-play drive that covered 60 yards to open the second half, crashing in from four yards out for 14-13 with 4:16 remaining. St. Thomas owned the lead for good.

The darting Donte was more efficient than pure electric (11-17 for 107 passing yards). But mid-way first quarter he turned turbo after a simple run-fake to Cardenas and soared up the

for a 75-yard touchdown jolt. Perfectly crafted spontaneity. Think Eddie Van Halen

among the world’s aspiring shredders in “Hot For Teacher.”

an astounding

right hashmarks to the sideline

for

32 bars earning extra credit

SAN ANTONIO CENTRAL CATHOLIC 20

EAGLE

FOOTBALL 49

The rambunctious Cardenas rumbled in a 231-yard assault with three touchdowns and his partner in pyrotechnics Lewis delivered three touchdowns, including two scoring strikes to Edgecomb. The St. Thomas sledgehammer defense dictated major moments as no. 1 Eagle Football (6-0, 1-0) debuted the district race with a runaway rout.

The 42-point explosion over the second and third quarters was a stop, rip, and roll to make J Roddy Walston & The Business rock with approval.

The visitor’s ill-advised pass from inside their 10-yard late in the first half was stolen by ball-hawking defensive back Aron Valentine ’24. He cruised 24 yards on the return for an insurmountable 28-3 lead. Cardenas then imposed his considerable will and skill to open the third period. He took a straight handoff from Lewis, erupted into the next level, and steamed down the left hash marks unbothered to the end zone for 35-6.

TOMBALL CONCORDIA LUTHERAN 21

EAGLE FOOTBALL 49

Dynamo Donte dodged and darted for 307 total yards with five touchdowns in abbreviated duty, while a doomsday defense continued its lockdown mode in a boogie wonderland to merit the attention of Earth, Wind & Fire.

Man-child Cardenas supplied 165 yards and two touchdowns. The top-ranked state private required only 19 plays to roll a 49-point first-half avalanche and activate a running clock throughout the second stanza. The fright week Friday the 13th-type slasher was only minus the hockey-mask-sporting, mother-grieving psycho Jason Voorhees, and assorted barebones gorefests of the Reagan-era film macabre.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 70

PROSPER WALNUT GROVE 35

Kinetic Lewis bewitched, bothered, and bewildered for a lucky seven touchdowns and 445 enthralling yards. The irresistible, immovable Cardenas added 196 rushing yards with three scores plus 46 yards receiving for the most emphatic flex since Nogronis became all the rage of swank mocktail enthusiasts.

Cardenas punished the hosts for three first-half touchdowns around a pair of scoring payoffs from Lewis to Edgecomb (10 receptions for 154 yards and four TDs).

Out of halftime at Mary Hardin Baylor’s Crusader Stadium, top-ranked Eagle Football (8-0) feasted on five consecutive trips to the end zone, le plat de résistance featuring Lewis turning on the jets on a sensational 91-yard scoring scamper for the latest and longest splurge of his scorching season. All while conjuring the image of Maximus echoing a resounding Are you not entertained?

The offensive extravaganza churned 621 total yards for a then-school record for points – the sort of easy living to make Miles Davis sit up, salivate, and savor in a forceful and aggressive cool school kind of way.

ST. PIUS X 21 EAGLE FOOTBALL 42

The earth-moving Cardenas responded with a resounding performance as the unbeaten Eagles stacked the latest no-doubt decision in a generational rivalry. No. 1 ranked Eagle Football was never threatened, even after the pocketful of dynamite Lewis departed during the first quarter.

Cardenas ran roughshod for two touchdowns in the first quarter, added a third score for a commanding 21-0 at halftime, and then exploded for a 50-yard jolt on the first St. Thomas snap of the third period. His 42-yard burst with 3:05 remaining was the final salvo in a five-touchdown, 244-yard boom boom boom that John Lee Hooker would appreciate. The sensational Senior Night cemented a second straight 9-0, 3-0 regular season.

EAGLE FOOTBALL 42

SAN ANTONIO ANTONIAN 24

Cardenas bludgeoned the hosts with 39 ram-like carries for a then-career-best 275 yards with four touchdowns. The cosmic closeout to an undefeated regular season recaptured kingpin superiority in a district St. Thomas has dominated since 2018 with an overwhelming 26-2 record.

Minus quarterback extraordinaire Lewis, the state’s top-ranked private mounted a 14-0 lead in the first seven and half minutes, then rode Cardenas during a smashmouth third quarter for two touchdowns to move ahead 35-17.

The sweet payback for the no. 1 ranked Eagles avenged a 38-35 home defeat to Antonian in a similar high-stakes gambit just one year ago. The first unbeaten campaign for St.

only the second since 1939. The 10th consecutive double-digit knock locked the Eagle’s

six years, plus a share of the crown in 2021.

Thomas (10-0, 4-0) since 2013 was

fourth perfect district championship in

DIVINELY DONTE

In an era of boundless offensive football where stratospheric exploits are seemingly redefined every week, dazzling dual-sport, dual-threat Donte Lewis ’24 has cemented a staggering standard to measure future St. Thomas sporting achievement.

His rollicking record-smashing two-year quarterbacking career was charged with electrifying Friday night lights. He tested limits and expanded the imagination. And the last torch of football distinction for Donte’s inferno of clutch and cool and captivating came courtesy the Touchdown Club of Houston which honored Lewis as the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year at the 12th annual Hildebrand Private High School Awards Dinner. Lewis’s three-month thrillarama delivered an endless array of swashbuckling theatrics through an arsenal of inexhaustible octane that fueled Eagle Football to a historic season. St. Thomas enjoyed the program’s first state championship showdown since 2001 and an unblemished, unchallenged 10-0 regular season.

Despite missing the regular-season finale after an abbreviated Week 10 outing, the Kansas St. baseball signee took the elevator directly to the Jayden Daniels Schoolboy Suite. When not scorching opponents, Lewis sliced and diced as if sushi master Jiro Ono were creating an omakase-tasting menu. He flawlessly executed coordinator Matt Hudson’s see-thematrix game planning and play calling. He broke tackles, wills, and matchups wide open, doing virtually whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He attacked every level of the field, vertically and horizontally. He delivered to the strength of the play design. He was accurate with throws underneath and down the field without risking the ball in jeopardy. His moxy was seen in a great understanding of protection and coverages. And Lewis was most lethal in responding immediately to a broken play, flashing true belief in the open field when he shifted his speed, instincts, and vision through and beyond the second and third levels of frailing and failing would-be defenders.

In pouring season-long secret sauce, Lewis accounted for 42 touchdowns with scorching breakaways of 91, 82, 81, 75, 69, 65, 61, 47, 46, 33, 31, and 31 yards plus rambling gains of 52, 49, 48, 37, and 35 yards. His whomping worth of 30 scoring passes included 77, 75, 72, 68, 63, 52, 50, 48, 43, 43, 41, 35, 34 and 33 yards.

Lewis was turnover-free for 10-plus games and had a 30-3 TD-to-interception ratio in 245 attempts (56-10 over two seasons). He completed a sizzling 73% for 2,639 yards. His 142.0 rating included an outrageous 15 yards per completion. He rushed for 882 yards and a stunning 15 yards per carry.

To steal lyrics from the bygone rock & roll ages, Lewis was a gridworld wizard.

Ain’t seen nothing like him in any amusement hall

How do you think he does it? I don’t know!

What makes him so good?

“Donte was as dynamic a quarterback as any I have seen,” says head coach Rich McGuire, the Touchdown Club Private Coach of the Year in 2020 who has guided Eagle Football to three state semifinals in five years and four undefeated district titles since 2018 with a share of the 2021 crown. “His standard of play as a senior was phenomenal. He showed great development and maturity. He was a presence within our locker room, fearless with great confidence and that belief extended to his teammates. Donte is the total package. Talent, skill, charisma, and enthusiasm.”

Lewis played majordomo to a crew who proved to be difference-makers in different moments. He was recognized by the Touchdown Club along with a terrific trio of notable Eagle offensive teammates.

Running back Johann Cardenas ’24 also earned POY consideration after his breathtaking smash-and-dash senior season ended with 2,268 rushing yards in 11 games - more than nine yards per carry - and 33 touchdowns, plus 340 receiving yards and a TD. Glue-grip game-breaking receivers Luke Edgecomb ’24 (1,362 yards with 15 touchdowns) and Larry Benton III ’24 (805 yards with 10 touchdowns) were also award finalists along with marauding linebacker Tyler Day ’24 (140 tackles), daredevil defensive back Aron Valentine ’24 (six interceptions), and monster of mayhem defensive lineman Dominic Ori ’24 (72 tackles and team-leading 12 TFL).

Lewis is the latest Eagle at football’s mission-critical position to earn such individual spotlight after Peyton Matocha (Miami, FL) shared the recognition in 2018 with St. Pius X quarterback Grant Gunnell and Maddox Kopp ’21 (Miami, OH) captured the acclaim in 2020. Jake Wright ’22 (Mary Hardin-Baylor) was a finalist following his otherworldly one-season wanderlust in 2021.

Lewis continues a rich St. Thomas tradition with the Touchdown Club during the previous decade. Parker White ’13 (Miami, OH) was the 2012 Lineman of the Year, Joseph Lowery ’14 (West Point) the 2013 Lineman of the Year, Charlie Vatterott ’16 (Texas St.) the 2015 Co-Lineman of the Year, David Jones ’16 (Cornell) the 2015 Ironman of the Year, kicker Paul Langmeier ’20 (TCU) the inaugural Special Teams POY in 2019 followed by Pablo Tager ’21 (University of San Diego) in 2020, and Jack Ward ’23 (Drake) the 2022 Defensive POY.

HOMECOMING 2023

THE ST. THOMAS CAMPUS COMMUNITY WAS THRILLED TO HONOR 2023 HOMECOMING QUEEN CECILIA CARRASCO OF

WHERE EAGLES DARE

Wyatt Johnson ’25 and David Cabajal ’26 raced to top-seven results while Jaden Stephenson ’27, Alex Lauzon ’26, and Ben Lauzon ’24 contributed strong support as a precocious St. Thomas crew captured the 2023 TAPPS 6A state cross country championship, the Eagles’ first crown since 2004.

The St. Thomas team total of 50 points out-paced San Antonio Antonian (58), San Antonio Central Catholic (83), The Village (126), and Plano John Paul II (138).

Acclaimed head coach Nathan Labus cashed the elusive team gold medal after a series of recent near misses. Eagle Cross Country took third place in 2022 and three consecutive runner-ups from 2018-20. Labus has also orchestrated Eagle Track and Field state titles in 2002, ’03, ’05, ’16, ’19, and ’21 with back-to-back silver finishes in 2022 and 2023.

Johnson (16:44.11) soared to fourth place and Cabajal (17:09.73) seventh as they blitzed the 5K layout at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco with impressive times. Stephenson (17:22.47) and the brothers Lauzon (17:27.83 and 17:39.90) were within range to stake 11th, 13th, and 15th.

Michael Kiefer ’26 (17:59.76) and Bryce Farrell ’27 (18:00.00) ran 18th and 19th, respectively.

In December, Labas was awarded coach of the year by the Houston Chronicle and Johnson was named to the All-Greater Houston private team.

The regional champion Eagles carried season-long momentum in producing their collective clutch performance.

Carbajal clocked a top-10 result to fuel the Eagles to third at the Nike South Invitational at Bear Ranch Park in The Woodlands. St. Thomas was the only private school in the top 27 among 54 predominately UIL programs.

At the 5K McNeil Hoka Invitational in Round Rock, Johnson (17:07.3) and Lauzon (17:10.0) pounded top-15 results as St. Thomas posted second place. And in September, Carbajal (16:467.0) and Lauzon (17:01.4) propelled the Eagles to eighth at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station.

STILL ON THE RISE AND FIRING

Jerome Llorens was only days into the preseason preps for his first go-round with Eagle Basketball. An inspiring supporting presence surprisingly arrived as swiftly as a quicksilver release and splash from deep distance. The additional coaching voice was unexpected as well as welcomed to accelerate the program’s progress.

One-time Houston Rocket shooting assassin Matt Maloney has entertained a variety of profitable business interests since completing his NBA career but never lost his summons to the sweaty game. Always willing to tutor aspiring talents, Maloney was intrigued by a conversation with David Perez (class of 1992) when he mentioned an opening on Llorens staff.

“I always wanted to get into the team atmosphere,” Maloney says. “I talked with coach Llorens and he was extremely positive and inviting. I recognized a great opportunity with a great school and program with committed student-athletes. It was a no-brainer.”

Maloney’s fresh-faced appearance resembles his rookie sensation days a quarter century ago.

The first-step dribble-drive in a random Reckling Gymnasium practice session is not as blinding but the sweet stroke remains equal parts pure, effortless, and deadly.

He has forever caressed a passion for the game larger than the national debt. Maloney’s hoop in the driveway, key to the gym work ethic was fueled by his father Jim, an assistant coach at Philadelphia’s Temple University during Matt’s formative years. The protegee spent endless hours under dad’s tutelage, toughened as a teenager by routine runs in Temple practices and scrimmages.

Maloney nurtured a feel for the ball, a rhythm for the release. Repeatable motion. Catch-and-shoot from comfort zones.

Step-back. Turnaround fallaway right shoulder. Snaking a high pick-and-roll for mid-range gaps.

Elevating creativity. Never a reluctance to mix it up.

Advancing first to Penn Charter School, then Haddonfield High in the Philly suburbs in New Jersey, Maloney morphed from good into impactful, impactful into invaluable. There was no exotic concoction or magic voodoo, but always the serious not merely sincere investment on the court, each second an obsession, an insatiable pursuit for improvement. That’s the lesson he impacted on Eagle Basketball.

“I think back to my development and the key was recognizing in real time where I was and where I needed to climb to accomplish my goals,” Maloney says. “And here at St. Thomas, I tried to relate what was needed for each individual to reach the next level. I wasn’t blessed with the most athletic ability but my father was obviously so important in teaching fundamentals and establishing that foundation for success. I knew from the beginning that these St. Thomas players would work hard, were coachable, and had a genuine interest in getting better, and that’s the biggest aspect.

“Coach Llorens runs a great system - spread the floor, push and share the ball, pressure defense, team-oriented. I took guys to the side, emphasizing fundamentals, mental preparation, and building off that.”

That exact blueprint and due diligence paved the glory road for Maloney. After his freshman year at Vanderbilt, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania and the Quakers did not lose an Ivy League game during his Penn career. Maloney scorched 244 three-pointers to earn the moniker ‘Money.’ He ignited Penn’s first NCAA tourney knock in 14 years, was a three-time first-team all-Ivy selection, the Ivy Player of the Year in 1995, and was enshrined in the Big 5 Hall of Fame with the class of 2012.

“My emphasis was always skill work and incorporating that into a team concept,” Maloney says. “I watched a lot of videotape with my dad (yes, Gen Z, VHS home cassettes). We were dissecting the game when I was in seventh grade and up, understanding how to break down defenders or zone defenses and crafting offense for myself or teammates. I was always ahead in that aspect.”

Miles ahead in a Miles Davis sort of way.

I KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING THAT THESE ST. THOMAS PLAYERS WOULD WORK HARD, WERE COACHABLE, AND THEY HAD A GENUINE INTEREST IN GETTING BETTER, AND THAT’S THE BIGGEST ASPECT.

Despite the Ivy accolades, Maloney went undrafted by the NBA after his graduation. Disappointed but not the least bit deterred, he sidetracked through the Continental Basketball Association outback where he maintained the micro-drive of improving each day, opening opportunities, prepared to maximize the next availability. The one-year perseverance through purgatory paid dividends when he cashed a roster spot in 1996 with the Rockets and then emerged after Brent Price went down with an elbow injury.

The out of nowhere no-name rookie was suddenly, inconceivably

In the semifinals series opener against Seattle, Maloney torched the Sonics for 17 points in the Rockets’ 112-102 win. He blazed another 19 in a 97-93 victory in Game 2. Maloney then stormed the Game 3 stage at Key Arena and permanently embossed memories on the brains of Houston’s hoopdom. With 36.8 seconds left in overtime, he collected the ball behind the arc, then calmly (as his dad always preached) dribbled left to avoid a lunging Hersey Hawkins. His eighth dagger from downtown nearly snapped the net inside out, the game-breaking basket that lifted the Rockets to a 110-106 celebration on their way to the Western Finals. Maloney matched his career-high of 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

“To this day, I’m still so grateful to have had that experience,” Maloney says. “(Head coach) Rudy Tomjonovich was phenomenal instilling confidence into an unproven player surrounded by the game’s best chasing a title. I was so fortunate to have Hakeem, Charles, Clyde, Mario Ellie take me in and have faith I could contribute. Fantastic times.”

Jim Maloney couldn’t have scripted a more memorable rookie breakthrough, even though he was unable to witness a single second of his son’s heroics. He worked as Hall of Fame coach Lefty Driesell’s top assistant at Maryland in the early 1970s, hammering a reputation as one of the top X-and-O men in the college game and particularly astute on offensive nuances. He coached with Don Casey and legendary John Chaney at Temple from 1973 until 1996 when the program enjoyed 466 wins and 13 NCAA tournaments. Jim was later honored as a member of Temple’s basketball Ring of Honor and Athletics Hall of Fame.

But in May 1996, just as Matt’s hoop dreams were on the verge of reality, Jim died of a heart attack driving home from practice. The next season, the raccoon-eyed Chaney kept an empty seat beside him on the bench in honor of the man so devoted that he walked behind him scribbling almost everything John said into notebooks for a decade and a half.

Make no mistake, Eagle Basketball in 2024 was commanded and presided in full by Llorens. Improvement was measurable throughout the bounce-to-bounce, including a runner-up finish in the Houston Private School Classic. The savvy contributions and encouraging words from Maloney were simply an extension of the teachings laid down a generation ago by a galvanizing father and basketball lifer, maneuvers then made into science.

Regardless of how far the game takes the latest collection of Eagles, they will take into their lives an enriching experience through the highs, lows, and whoas - basketball’s style and argot, its racial ecumenism, its jaunty, loose spirit, where character and intelligence were often revealed in their approach.

TOGETHER WE ARE LIMITLESS

THE EAGLE COMMUNITY ENJOYED AN AWESOME RESPONSE TO THE 9TH ANNUAL EAGLE EYE SPORTING CLAYS TOURNAMENT AT THE GREATER HOUSTON SPORTS CLUB.

Nearly 150 participants in this unique event generated invaluable proceeds benefiting St. Thomas scholarship programs and continuing the mission of the Basilian Fathers to teach goodness, discipline, and knowledge

Great appreciation extends to tournament chairmen Jeff Camp ’96 and Andy Green ’96, as well as the generous contributors including Silver sponsor Hawkins, Bronze sponsors Roven Camp, PLLC and Harvey | Harvey Cleary Builders, and our patrons for an afternoon of camaraderie and tradition. A brotherhood unlike any other.

Strong Basilian values unite the Eagle alumni who are fearless in their pursuit to make a difference in the world, no matter where they are. They serve best by doing the thing they love most.

Stay social with @STHCatholic on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow, click, like, share, and retweet.

CASINO NIGHT

ANOTHER AWESOME TURNOUT FOR THE ANNUAL ST. THOMAS CASINO NIGHT.

High rollers, card sharks, and squares. Games and gamesmanship. Fun and classic Kreole Soul food courtesy Bradley ’91 and April Lewis. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Great appreciation for our alumni and current fathers who made this return to campus part of a brotherhood unlike any other.

Save the Date - Monday, May 13 for the 33rd Annual St. Thomas Golf Tournament. And stay in contact with Alumni Director Steve Cummings ’07 for a slew of upcoming activities.

THE TICKER SPRING 2024

ST. THOMAS PEOPLE IN THE NEWS AND ON THE MOVE.

Eagle Broadcast Network The student broadcast media platform celebrated its 10th anniversary with an inaugural Wall of Honor distinction. Honored were James Grant ’16, Adrian Fonseca ’16, Jonathan McGovern ’16, and Ryan Chandler ’17

Grant is a sports anchor/reporter at WTLV (NBC)-WJXX (ABC) First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. He previously was a multi-media journalist at KBMT (ABC) in Beaumont after graduating in 2020 from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Fonseca hosts the Catholic Conventions podcast and Catholic Drive Time, a nationally syndicated radio show produced by the Guadalupe Radio Network. Fonseca earned a dual major in theology and communications at the University of St. Thomas.

McGovern is a mobile unit broadcast engineer for NEP Group, a Pittsburgh-based, privately owned international production company that provides outsourced teleproduction services for major events throughout the world. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative media from the University of Alabama.

Chandler is a statewide capitol correspondent, based at KXAN (NBC) in Austin. Chandler graduated in December 2020 from the University of Texas at Austin with dual bachelor’s degrees in journalism and government as a student in the Liberal Arts Honors Program.

Jim Studdert ’57 was honored by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston during its 175th anniversary gala at the Hilton Americas-Houston. He was recognized among five individuals and an organization for “generously contributing time and talent to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the local Church of Galveston-Houston.” Studdert has served as a member of the finance council of the Archdiocese for more than 40 years and also on the benefits committee.

Steve Tyrell ’63 returned for a special fall engagement at the legendary Café Carlyle in New York City. The Grammy Award winner and two-time Emmy nominee has been a regular performer at the iconic venue since 2005 when he was asked to take over the revered holiday season after the passing of Bobby Short.

Johnny Carrabba ’77 published his second cookbookGift From the Heart, Johnny Carrabba. Dedicated to his two children, 23-year-old Johnny and 22-year-old Mia. A salute to 37 years as an elite restaurateur, with the two original Carrabba’s strong and eight additional restaurants in the Carrabba Family portfolio. And 25 staff members with him for 30 years or more.

Gene Phillips ’88 was recently awarded The Association of Boarding Schools Burch Ford Kaleidoscope Award for Excellence in Student & Residential Life. He is the director of Residential Life at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin with more than three decades of academic administration and residential leadership experience at the institution. Phillips earned his Master of Arts in Human Services from St. Edward’s University and a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 from the University of Texas at Austin.

Joe Gleason ’86 returned to campus in August to craft a Back to School feature for KTRK-TV. The acclaimed sports producer detailed the rich impact and broad opportunities of a St. Thomas Basilian experience.

Noel Romero ’08 joined the St. Thomas science faculty in 2022 and led the school’s esports club team to the TAPPS Fall 2023 Rocket League title, as well as Final Four showings in Super Smash Bro Crew, Super Smash Bro Solo, and Valorant.

Barret Kaul ’15 and Hanna Kaul were wed in November at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in New Orleans with a reception at The Moore. Kaul is a senior tax consultant with Deloitte Tax after earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Millsaps College and his Masters in Taxation and Data Analytics from the University of Mississippi in 2020. The 2014 state baseball champion completed his scholar-athlete career in 2019 as a team captain with the Majors and was also a member of the accounting honor society Beta Alpha Psi.

Scott Pickering ’17 is the vice president of growth at Giga Energy and founder, engineer, designer, and customer support at Sheetsync. The 2017 National Merit Finalist earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2020 and his Master of Science in Management Information Systems in 2021 from Texas A&M University.

Robert Storie ’17 and Klaire Hetmaniak were wed December 2 at St. Anne Catholic Church in Houston with a reception at the Crystal Ballroom at the Rice Hotel. The couple first met as freshmen at a St. Thomas home football game. Storie is an assistant expeditor at Burns & McDonnell after earning a Bachelor of Science, Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University.

Peter Kaul ’24 and Charlie Bellomo ’24 earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in the Boy Scouts of America. Both gained distinction through Troop 730 and St. Anne Catholic Church while serving various leadership positions. Before Troop 730, Kaul was a member of Troop 112 with the Boy Scouts Transatlantic Council, as well as the Marymount International School, Paris for two years in France.

IN THE FINAL DAYS OF 2023, THE ST. THOMAS FAMILY CELEBRATED THE EXCEPTIONAL LIVES OF THREE CHAMPIONS FOR BASILIAN EDUCATION AND DEVOUT MEMBERS OF HOUSTON’S CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.

An esteemed member of the prestigious Hall of Honor. An acclaimed and dynamic leader in Houston’s financial industry for more than three decades. The professional achievement surpassed only by an insatiable philanthropy that continues to impact generations of scholars at two alma maters, St. Thomas and the University of Houston.

Cemo and his wife Rebecca launched a family foundation in 2000 to fortify higher education and aid veterans’ affairs, local food insecurities, and animal welfare. In 2004, their substantial lead gift helped fund the St. Thomas Moran Fine Arts Center with a modernistic auditorium that bears their name. The Cemos later generously contributed to the historic 4500Forever capital campaign that secured the Jolpin Campus expansion and redevelopment and also contributed $3 million to establish the Michael J. Cemo Lecture Hall and Academic Center for UH’s C. T. Bauer College of Business, providing a 34,000-square-foot LEED-certified building. Cemo earned his bachelor of science in economics with a minor in mathematics. During his profound business career, he served 18 years as Senior Vice President of Marketing at American Capital Management, followed by 15 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of AIM Distributors, Inc., the retail-marketing arm of AIM Management Group Inc., as well as a director of AMVESCAP PLC.

In 1996, Cemo received the distinguished national honor in the mutual fund industry of being named Marketer of the Year by the Financial Times.

Cemo was appointed to the UH System Board of Regents in 2001 and served through August 2007. For fiscal year 2007 he was chair of the Endowment Management Committee and vice chair of the Administration and Strategic Planning Committee. He played principal roles on the University Advancement Committee, the Administration and Finance Committee, and the Audit Committee. He also founded the University’s Cougar Fund. In 2002, Cemo was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Bauer College.

Cemo served on boards at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Society of the Performing Arts, the Association for Community Television, the Houston Center for Photography, and the Ronald McDonald House-Houston.

Cemo was nurtured by a housewife mother and father with a fourth-grade education who initially worked the family farm. He became a barber and worked for forty-two years at the landmark Milby Hotel. Cemo grew up living a modest yet enriching life in the Montrose area.

From humble beginnings rose a goliath of giving and accomplishment. Cemo passed away on December 25 at 78, survived by Rebecca and children, Stephanie and Jason.

Michael John Cemo ’63 1945-2023

A beloved father, devoted husband, cherished son, adored brother and uncle, and revered member of the St. Thomas faculty. The 1989 St. Thomas graduate passed away on December 16 at 52, leaving a legacy of love, laughter, faith, and an enduring passion for mathematics. Beyond the classroom, he was a pillar of strength and beacon of joy for his wife Alycia, creating a home filled with warmth and happiness for their son Rolie, daughter Laura, and Alycia’s daughter Lyla. Melcher is also survived by brothers Ray ’80 and Richard ’81.

Melcher attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston. He crafted a significant teaching career for more than two decades, instilling a passion for life-long learning while contributing to students’ spiritual growth. His infectious, spontaneous personality was a constant source of joy. But Melcher’s defining quality was his Catholic faith which served as a guiding light in a life dedicated to the pursuit of goodness, discipline, and knowledge and the nurturing of family bonds.

A life-long bastion for Catholic virtues whose actions embodied the priesthood of the laity. From his Irish Bronx, New York City roots, Miggins and his wife Kathleen would relocate to Houston where they raised 12 children and sent eight sons to St. Thomas – Rory ’74, John ’77, Larry ’78, retired United States Air Force Maj. Matthew ’83, Neil ’88, Robert ’90, Patrick ’92, and Michael ’95. Daughters Noreen and Maureen are long-time advocates and supporters of the University of St. Thomas.

Matthew’s son John ’17 was a National Merit Finalist, Phi Beta Kappa scholarship recipient, and the valedictorian of his St. Thomas class. He graduated in 2021 from the University of Southern California as a Global Prize Award recipient.

Larry enjoyed an 11-year professional baseball career spent mostly in the minors yet he intersected with some of the game’s glorious greats.

After serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II, Miggins was playing third base for Jersey City in the Giants system in 1946 when Jackie Robinson played his first professional game as a Montreal Royal.

While in high school at Fordham Prep, Miggins was talking with good friend and baseball teammate Vin Scully, the future beloved voice of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball and beyond. They quizzed each other one day on what they dreamed for their futures. Miggins revealed to Vin he wanted to be a major league ballplayer. Vin responded he wished to be a sports broadcaster.

Scully recounted in 2022 with his inimitable style and grace that “we wondered what are the odds of us making those goals. Well, would you believe, that in 1952, the St. Louis Cardinals came to Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Who’s in the lineup – my friend Larry Miggins. Sure enough, he came up, and would you believe, he hit a home run which I described off left-hander Preacher Roe. As Larry ran around the bases, I could not believe a billion-to-one shot had occurred directly in my lap. That’s the one that I’ll never forget.”

Miggins would hammer only one other home run in his brief stay in the major leagues. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of St. Thomas in 1952 largely through correspondence classes during the season. Miggins later received a Master of Criminology from Sam Houston State University and invested 21 years as chief of the probation and parole division for the Southern Division of Texas.

Miggins was inducted into the State University of New York Maritime College Hall of Fame, the Fordham Prep Hall of Fame, and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. His heritage passed to 35 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren is a limitless empathy and compassion for others supported by an unwavering belief in God.

Albert Roland Melchor ’89 1971-2023

Lawrence Edward Miggins 1925-2023

in memoriam

’47

Frank L. Theall ’47, October 16, 2023

Brother of George V. ’47 and Roy J. Theall ’52, grandfather of Adam D. ’02 and Thomas C. Theall ’05.

’48

William A. Kyle Jr. ’48, September 19, 2023

Jack Scamardi ’48, April 6, 2023

’50

Rev. William H. Irwin, CSB ’50, December 6, 2023

’51

Vernon L. Pool ’51, May 20, 2023

Brother of Robert L. Pool ’50.

’53

Joseph A. Cotrone ’53, August 31, 2023

Brother of Louis A. Cotrone ’47.

Deacon Ronald J. Fraser ’53, November 15, 2023

Joseph V. Musachia ’53, November 3, 2023

Father of Sam V. Musachia ’77.

Samuel J. “Sammy” Patrenella ’53, October 30, 2023

Relative of many extended family members within the St. Thomas community.

’56

Ralph H. Sauer ’56, November 6, 2023

Father of Steven N. ’86 and Brian C. Sauer ’93, and uncle of St. Thomas fine arts faculty member Dan Green.

’57

Larry M. Arnim ’57, December 2, 2023

Father of Jeffrey ’83 and Michael D. Arnim ’87, brother of Albert H. Arnim ’50, and cousin of Albert E. Vacek, Jr. ’65.

Charles L. “Len” Gould Jr. ’57, November 26, 2023

’60

Joseph C. Cotrone ’60, December 25, 2023

Michael J. “Jerry” Pizzitola ’60, January 18, 2024

Son of Joseph F. Pizzitola ’38, brother of Joseph F. ’59 and John A. Pizzitola ’62, stepbrother of James W. Raley ’65, father of Michael J. Pizzitola Jr. ’80, grandfather of Stephen T. Schwarzbach Jr. ’02, nephew of Frank J. ’48 and Anthony F. Pizzitola ’54, and great-uncle of Dominic Pizzitola ’27.

’63

Alfred P. Regitz, III ’63, April 9, 2023

’64

Patrick A. Poth ’64, December 11, 2023

’65

Neal E. Adamcik ’65, October 7, 2023

Brother of Albert J. Adamcik ’57.

Ronald W. Calhoun ’65, November 17, 2023

Paul H. Hesser III ’65, November 13, 2023

’66

Leonard J. Nowak ’66, November 10, 2023

Brother of Sports Hall of Fame member Ted ’70 and Mike Nowak ’71; uncle of Matthew ’95 and Mark Nowak ’98, and Mason ’18 and Travis Ruch ’27; great-uncle of Carter Nowak ’24, and Wells ’26 and Alex Granger ’27.

’67

Greg W. Weatherly ’67, September 3, 2023

Brother of Christopher K. ’69, Matthew P. ’76, Joseph R. ’77, and John M. Weatherly ’78.

’74

Richard L. Flowers Jr. ’74, August 24, 2023

Brother of Robert S. ’75 and James E. Flowers ’78.

’75

Kevin M. Caspersen ’75, September 17, 2023

Brother of Charles A. ’66, Steve A. ’73, and John V. Caspersen ’77; brother-in-law of James A. Jamail ’64, Michael J. Dewan ’67, and Paul J. Cashiola ’70; and uncle of Michael A. Jamail ’05.

’77

Bernard J. Toomey ’77, September 17, 2023

’80

John G. Clark ’80, October 5, 2023

Michael H. Wharton ’80, October 2, 2023

Jorge C. Sera ’80, July 13, 2023

’02

Christopher D. Nadji ’02, October 11, 2023

Brother of Matthew P. Nadji ’06.

’09

Alexander M. Valencia ’09, November 17, 2023

St. Thomas Family

Elizabeth M. Coerver, December 26, 2023

Wife of Val Coerver ’60; sister of Patrick E. ’56, Michael A. ’58, and Clifford C. Murphy ’60; and sister-in-law of Arthur J. Coerver ’61.

Paige B. Davis, September 20, 2023

Mother of Caleb B. ’23, Cooper L. ’25, Joshua M. ’25, and Major J. Davis ’25.

Antoinette V. Dichiara, August 15, 2023

Mother of Joseph A. Dichiara ’81.

Leroy P. Gunner, November 16, 2023

Father of Jonathan H. ’98 and Andrew L. Gunner ’02.

Helen R. Hoogendam, April 9, 2023

Sister of Edward A. ’54, James R. ’55, Thomas J. ’59, Donald D. ’60, and Leonard P. ’63; grandmother of Cameron A. Cash ’16, and great-aunt of James Marcantel ’26.

Margaret T. Lucio-Cantu, July 18, 2022

Wife of John A. Cantu ’77 and mother of John A. Cantu Jr. ’11.

Bill O’Neil, September 17, 2023

St. Thomas football and golf coach, 1982-1992.

Stephen J. Riley, September 17, 2019

Betty J. Riley, September 7, 2023

Grandparents of Chance H. Taylor ’09 and Travis A. Taylor ’20.

Sophie S. Russo, December 31, 2023

Wife of Charles E. Russo ’53; mother of Charles E. Jr. ’80, and Steven S. Russo -’83; grandmother of William A. ’10 and Charles E. Russo III ’11; and sister-in-law of Anthony S. Russo ’49.

Mrs. Annette D. Strake, November 16, 2023

Wife of Hall of Honor member George W. Strake Jr. ’53, noted businessman and philanthropist, former Texas Secretary of State, and chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1983-1988.

Mary Sue Wald, December 22, 2023

Mother of Scott C. ’89 and Ryan D. Wald ’93.

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends of St. Thomas High School,

What makes St. Thomas High School so special? I am asked this question on a regular basis, and there are the standard answers – the uncompromising academics and the uncommon brotherhood. Students coming to 4500 Memorial Drive will be pushed to understand that hard work is an integral part of a good education. We want our Eagles to head off to college prepared to work.

We also want our students to build lifelong friendships. As young men gather on our campus from across the Greater Houston Area, the bonds of brotherhood that are forged work to build a network of Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge that connects alums across the state, the country, and the world. We tell freshmen that they are meeting the best man for the wedding, the godfather to their child, and more. Year after year, I see this promise come to fruition as I help celebrate these weddings and baptisms.

However, an area that I have always admired is the fact that our community is so much larger than the students and alumni that we have sent out into the world. The Mothers’ Club is unrivaled in its dedication and support of the mission of STH. They get credit for their work on the signature Big 3 events of the Auction Gala, Round Up, and the Spring Style Show. Each of these events brings people together in joy and fun. But there are so many other moments throughout the year that cannot happen without them. Cookie Days, donuts for all school masses, National Honor Society, the Moms of the Music Guild and Drama Guild, the Tolton Society Moms, and so many admissions events. Our moms are vital to our school life, and many stay connected years after their Eagle has flown off into the world.

I also give thanks for the relationships that STH celebrates with our sister schools, Duchesne Academy, Incarnate Word Academy, and St. Agnes Academy. For generations, our connections with the students from these schools have made St. Thomas shine. Our sister schools bring life to St. Thomas, whether with our drama program, athletic trainers, band, cheerleading, or many other ways. And, of course, these friendships often lead to marriages and families down the road. In the last few years, I have witnessed a number of weddings with an Eagle and a bride from a sister school. What pure joy!

St. Thomas is truly a special place with a wide-reaching community. May God continue to bless all those who find a home here.

Eagle Fight Never Dies, Bright smiles, one and all!

Fr. Jim Murphy, CSB

To My Fellow Eagle Alumni, and the greater STH Community:

I hope this issue of The Eagle’s Nest finds all of you and your families doing well. As an introduction, I am son of a ’49 grad, one of four brothers that attended St. Thomas in ’70, ’71, ’78 and ’83, a proud parent in ’14, and relative to Eagle uncles, nephews, in-laws and cousins. I believe we have had some part of our family roaming the halls of 4500 Memorial almost every decade since the 1940’s.

In the early 90’s, John Fauntleroy ’51 was running the Development Office at the school and asked me to join the Foundation Board. I was honored to serve with some incredible STH brothers like Saverio Giammalva ’50, Jim Fischer ’39, Pat Green ’62, Ronnie Glauser ’54, Mike Earthman ’62, Judson Robinson III ’77, Bob Sheridan ’50, and Robert Paine ’68, all of which welcomed me as a peer into their group despite our age differences. As a young attorney getting my practice going, these gentlemen provided an invaluable resource to the abundantly diverse city of Houston and access to the movers and shakers of the community. Most importantly, they helped me understand the history of STH and how important our work was for all the school’s stakeholders, past, present and future. It was a torch not passed lightly and one that has kept me focused on the importance of the work of the STH Board of Directors and our dedicated Foundation Board.

The STH Board of Directors is comprised of several standing committees with specific functions designed to support our President, Fr. Murphy, CSB, and his staff. The Board has a diverse membership of alumni, parents, volunteers and Basilians that bring a level of talent very few Boards enjoy. We have lawyers, doctors, priests, accountants, small and large business owners, educators, advisors, and consultants just to name a few. Over the past year, the Board has been working closely with Fr. Murphy, Principal Aaron Dominquez, students, alumni and the faculty/staff to create the most comprehensive Strategic Plan the school has ever designed. More to come on this front. In addition to this, the Board has been developing a new Campus Master Plan that will incorporate our entire 28 acre campus. This plan addresses the needs of the school today as well as the next 100 years. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of time dedicated to both projects. A key takeaway is the unbridled passion all the stakeholders have for STH.

My six years on the Board have flown by and in that time a lot has changed around the school. New faces, new buildings, new challenges, new alums, new parents, new students, new victories (and defeats), and of course, the completion of a dang nice baseball stadium! While the work of the Board can be challenging, the women and men that serve do so with integrity and determination with one ultimate goal in mind – 4500Forever! It is an exciting time for all of us to be a part of the St. Thomas brotherhood. Spread the word. There’s some good stuff going on and you should be proud. EFND.

Kurt Hanson ’83

Chair, St. Thomas High School Board of Directors

4500 Memorial Drive

Houston, Texas 77007-7332

P: 713.864.2606 F: 713.864.6402

www.sths.org

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