Archbishop Stepinac High School


Archbishop Stepinac High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York, United States. It was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until the 2009–2010 school year, when it became independent. It was founded in 1948 and named for Aloysius Stepinac, the Archbishop of Zagreb in Croatia, which was then part of Yugoslavia. In 1952, Stepinac was appointed a cardinal by Pope Pius XII.

History

Archbishop Stepinac High School opened in 1948 with a capacity of 1,360 students. It began with freshman and sophomore years and reached its full complement in 1950. The school was established subsequent to fundraising by the Catholic parishes of Westchester County, under the leadership of Cardinal Francis Spellman, the Archbishop of New York, and the educational officials of the Archdiocese. The initial purpose of the school was to establish a full educational program with a diversity of subject choices leading to a well-rounded student. In addition to the college preparatory program it offered a general course for boys who wanted to finish their education with high school and enter a trade. Boys were taught by an all-male faculty, almost entirely religious in makeup. In its early years the administration of the school was in the hands of diocesan priests, assisted by religious brothers and an occasional layman.
Students from the school were used as extras in the 1972 film Child's Play directed by Sidney Lumet.
In many sports, Stepinac has many rival schools that include Iona Prep, Fordham Prep, Holy Cross, St. Francis Prep, Holy Trinity, St. Anthony's, Chaminade, Monsignor Farrell and White Plains High School.
Fr. John O'Keefe, president of Archbishop Stepinac from 1992 to 2004, was permanently removed from ministry in 2016 because of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. O'Keefe's suspension was announced in a December 16, 2015, letter to parishioners from New York's archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who called the allegation "credible."

Demographics

Race

The high school is 8.5% Asian, 12.5% Black, 14% Hispanic, 60% White and 5% other.

Program

The current administration and faculty of Stepinac is a mix of priests and lay men and women. The high school draws its students predominantly from Westchester County and has evolved into a college preparatory school. The school offers a college prep program, an honors program offering 22 AP classes, and starting in the 2016–2017 school year, an honors academy designed to give students a head start in their respective field. Stepinac utilizes a library of digital textbooks that can be accessed by students on a variety of devices and is vastly less expensive than buying individual textbooks.

Athletics

Football

Stepinac began playing football in 1950 and was one of the initial teams in the Catholic High School Football League when the league was organized in 1954. In 2017, Stepinac was voted as one of the top 15 most dominant New York high school football programs since 2006. The Crusaders have been to five straight CHSFL AAA Championships, winning four of five appearances in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Crusaders were the NY State Catholic Champions in 2015, 2017 and 2018. In 2017 Stepinac finished ranked number 5 in the tri-state area, 1 in New York State and 160 in the nation by Max Preps.

2014

In 2014, Stepinac's varsity football team won the AAA Championship in the CHSFL. The school had won lower division championships, but it was the first time the school was League champion since 1955, when it shared the title with Saint Francis Prep.

2015

The 2015 Stepinac Varsity Crusaders went undefeated at 12-0 and won both the Catholic High School Football League and Catholic High School Athletic Association Championships to complete an historic season. On November 28, 2015, the Stepinac Crusaders football team defeated the Monsignor Martin Conference champion Saint Francis High School of Buffalo 42–28 at Grand Island High School to capture their first state championship. The victory marked the end of a 12-game undefeated season.

2016

Stepinac played in the 2016 CHSFL AAA championship game, losing to Cardinal Hayes.

2017

Stepinac won the 2017 Catholic High School Athletic Association New York State Football Championship.

2018

Stepinac won the 2018 Catholic High School Athletic Association New York State Football Championship for the second consecutive year by defeating St. Francis of Buffalo.

Basketball

Stepinac's basketball team captured a state championship in 2018.
Stepinac's basketball team won the New York Archdiocese Championship in 2020.

Hockey

In the 2017–18 hockey season the Stepinac Crusaders were undefeated with a 25-0-1 record. The team captured the CHSHL B division championship by defeating Xavier High School in two consecutive games in the best of three championship round.

Wrestling

Archbishop Stepinac's wrestling team won the Catholic league championship during the 2013–2014 season and the 2014–2015 season.

Drama Club

The school's auditorium is named after Edward Bowes, the host of the Major Bowes Amateur Hour. The theatre hosts programs like the Annual Alumni Theatre, Annual Talent Show, the Fall Dramas, and the Spring Musicals.

Notable alumni

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduates include: