Texas Private and Parochial HS Football Coaches Passed Away

Tom Hillary, Irving Cisterican ( - 4/10/2000)

James Blake, Midland Christian (12/21/1932 in Brownwood - 2/12/2011) -- Obituary
He attended Brownwood High School, where he starred on the football and basketball teams. He went on to play college basketball at Daniel Baker College. In 1952 he joined the United States Army and proudly served his country during the Korean War. He received an Honorable Discharged from the military in 1955 and returned to Howard Payne University to complete his Master's degree in Education in 1957. He also received degrees and certifications from Texas Tech University and Sul Ross University.

On May 9, 1954, he married his best friend, Patsy Blake of Blanket, Texas. They celebrated 56 years of marriage this past year. Following his graduation from college, James began a 45-year career in public education. He spent over 35 years as a Coach, Teacher and Superintendent in the Forsan, Sands, Seminole and New Home school districts.

James and Pat moved to Midland to retire in 1992; however, after a two week "retirement" James was hired by Midland Christian, where he coached another 10 years. Through the years his teams won and played in multiple state championships in football, basketball, track, golf and volleyball. (Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home)

George Pasterchick, San Antonio St. Gerard (1930 - 11/30/2012) -- Obituary

Beginning in 1967, Pasterchick commanded various sidelines around the city for the next 44 seasons. He was best known for his lengthy career at St. Gerard, the small private school just southeast of downtown. Although Pasterchick had a losing record, going 152-185-2, he became an iconic figure during his 34 years with the Royals, including 32 as head coach and athletic director.

Pasterchick's St. Gerard teams won eight district titles and the 1985 TCIL state championship. His retirement party was attended by more than 500 people, a telling measure of the esteem in which he was held. Pasterchick was also well-known for his involvement in the Pizza Hut High School All-Star Game, in which he coached for 29 years. (San Antonio Express News)

Eddie Davis, Houston Strake Jesuit (5/6/1955 - 10/14/2013) - Obituary

Davis was in his third season on the Christopher Newport coaching staff. He worked primarily with the program's quarterbacks and special teams, and called the squad's offensive plays from the press box.

A native of Houston, Texas, Davis arrived at CNU following a season on the staff at Dean College in Massachusetts. He previously served as an assistant coach at Rice, Texas Tech, Temple, James Madison and Northeastern.

While an assistant at James Madison from 1999 to 2004, Davis served in various capacities including offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach from 2003 to 2004. Davis also held the position of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northeastern from 2004 to 2009.

Davis was a 1977 graduate of Texas A&M University and earned his Master's from Rice University in 1984. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rice from 1982-83 before joining the staff at Texas Tech, where he coached from 1984-85. He served on the staff at Temple from 1986-89 and assisted at Texas State from 1989-90.

In addition to extensive experience as an assistant, Davis also served as a head coach. He led the varsity program at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston from 1992-99 and guided the squad to its first state championship in 14 years in 1994.

He is survived by his wife, Diane, and four sons, Mickey, Eric, Gabriel and Marcello.

Mark Bowles, Denton Liberty Christian (10/26/1956 in Denton - 10/20/2013)
Bowles began the Liberty Christian program in 1983 and led the team in its first season in 1984. During his 25-year tenure, he compiled a 219-76 record with three state championships, six state title game appearances and about 20 district titles.

Ted "Rock" Knapp, Houston Northwest Academy and Houston Christian (11/6/1956 - 7/6/2015) - Obituary

Gary Pasqua, Dallas Jesuit (7/6/1937 - 4/20/2016) - Obituary

Rene Aja, Balch Springs Christian Academy, Dallas Metropolitan Christian and Desoto Brookhollow Christian Academy (2/4/1951 in Corpus Christi - 1/28/2018 in Poteet)

Garry Clinton McMillan, San Antonio Texas Military Institute, Houston The Kinkaid School (3/9/1943 in Battlecreek, Michigan - 9/30/21) -- Obituary

Gary Rickard, Granbury Happy Hill Academy (4/9/1944 - 3/18/2022) - Obituary

Mike Hall, Houston Second Baptist, Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy, Frisco Legacy Christian Academy, Tyler All Saints Episcopal and Victoria St. Joseph (8/16/1959 in Oklahoma City - 7/30/2022) - Obituary

Mike Santiago, San Antonio Central Catholic (10/1/1955 - 8/10/2023)

1907 Gridiron Race In San Antonio

Much Interest in the Interscholastic League with the St. Anthony College Team in the Field

Only two weeks remain for the opening of the football championship series of the San Antonio Interscholastic Athletic League, and all of the four teams are down to work for the fray.

Interest in this season's race is centered in the possibilities of the St. Anthony college team, which has been admitted to the league.  This team is an unknown quantity in a league race, although is has played about every team in the leage.

Like the San Antonio Academy team was last season, the St. Anthony players are short on beef, the average weight of the players not being over 140 pounds, but they are a griftty bunch and this goes a long way and sometimes brings unexpected results.

Like last season, the team of Peacock Military School will be composed of excellent football timber and bids fair to be in the thick of the fight for the championship.

The Peacocks' most formidable rivals will probably be the high school squad, which won the championship and the Gazette cup last year.

The fight will likely be between the Peacocks and the high chools, while the San Antonio Academy and the St. Anthony College will have an interesting struggle between themselves as to who will bring up the rear end of the procesion.  These teams will be the lightweights of the league and when they get together some fast work can be looked for.

The fact that the excellent team of the West Texas Military Academy will not be in the league will not interfere with the gridiron work of the boys in gray.  They will be kepy busy fighting for honors with the big uns.  Arrangements are pending for games in the near future with the teams of the University of Texas, the Agriculutural and Mechanical College, Baylor University, St. Edward's College and the University of Tulane.  All of these will be big events and they will be watched with a great deal of interest.

(Source:  San Antonio Gazette, Saturday, October 12, 1907, Page 16)

1907 Football League To Be Organized Tonight

A meeting is called for tonight to be held in the rooms of the International Club for the organization of the Interscholastic football league for 1907. 

The three schools - high school, Peacock Military school and San Antonio acvademy - which composted the league last year, will be in the league this year, and the West Texas Military Academy and St. Louis College are also to be in the league.

At the meeting tonight, officers will be elected and a committee appointed to arrange for a schedule, which is to be adopted at the next meeting of the league.

(Source:  San Antonio Gazette, Monday, September 30, 1907, Page 10)

1987 Ennis St. John alum Emil Slovacek signs with San Diego NFL

Slovacek signs with Chargers

Emil Slovacek of Stephen F. Austin University has signed a  free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League.

He is the son of Emil Slovacek Sr. and the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Slovacek, all of San Angelo.

Slovacek, a 6-foot-3, 303-pound defensive tackle, is a graduate of St. John High School in Ennis.  The school has no football program, and he played organized football for the first time three years ago under SFA coach Jim Hess, former Angelo State University head coach.

Source:  San Angelo Standard-Times, Thursday, May 14, 1987, Page 37

1969 San Antonio Central Catholic alum McCann signs with NY Giants

Big Boy Takes A Giant Step

Tim McCann of Bronxville, a big boy from a big family, hopes to make it big with the New York football Giants this season.

"I'd sure like to make this club," said the 6-5, 256-pound Princeton University graudate during a "meet the draftees-free agents" luncheon staged by the Giants at Leone's Friday afternoon.

"I never gave professional football a thought until I entered Princeton four years ago," stated McCann.  "But ever since then, I've thought about a pro career, particularly one with the New York Giants.  They are wonderful people."

McCann, a first strong defensive tackle for the Tigers for two seasons, isn't quite sure just what position he'd like to play with the Giants.

"Anywhere, as long as it's on the defensive line.  I love defensive football," smiled McCann.

McCann is one of 11 children, eight boys and three girls, who moved to Bronxville from California a few months ago.  "I guess I'm the only member of the family who likes it here," he smiled yesterday.  "My seven brother sure miss California."

Born in Santa Fe, California, Tim graduated from Central Catholic High School in Texas.  In addition to football, he also earned varsity letters as a hammer thrower at Princeton.

A political science major, McCann is one of two Princetonians signed as free agents by the Giants.  The other is 6-3, 225-pound linebacker Richard Sandler of Levittown.

Source:  The Standard-Star, Saturday, March 1, 1969, Page 11

1952 SAL Formation

Top O' Morn, by Buster Haas

Eugene Linse, an ambitious young man who masterminds Concordia's athletic program, both high school and junior college, looked to the future Tuesday and smiled at what he saw.

Linse is president of the Southwest Academic League of Texas, a full-fledged statewide band of private schools, and he was speaking of a subject dear to his heart.

"Within 10 years," Linse said. "I wouldn't be at all surprised to see every private school in the state joined in this conference."

It's a modest endeavor as of now but the league, split by two regions and three districts, blankets the state, if somewhat thinly.

Region 2 is composed of schools from Dallas, Fort Worth, Gainesville and Texarkana, while Region 1 encompasses schools from San Antonio, Taylor, San Marcos and Austin.

Notable, by absence, for the present, are Houston schools, bu Linse has a word for that, too.

"In September I've been invited to appear before a meeting of Houston privte schools to discuss our plans," Linse continued, "and we will offer them a complete district, as San Antonio has, for 1953."

That would increase te districts by one and possibly cause a re-shuffle of regions, Houston and San Antonio schools being in one region, while schools from Central Texas would move over to the other region.

The new league formation has adopted exactly the same rules of the University Interscholastic League, with one exception -- the transfer rule.

But the semester rules, age limit and the rest are included in the league's constitution.

There will be no spring football training and no fall practice until Sept. 1, no basketball practice before Nov. 15, no track practice before Feb. 15, and no baseball workouts before March 15.

Briefly, the new league setuip is almost a carbon copy of the University Interscholastic League.

Even to the same trophies presented UIL champions.

"This gives the private school boys a new incentive," Linse said.  "Having a state champion will really mean something to the boys."

Winners of Districts 1 and 2 will play for the regional championship, the winner to play the Region 2 champion for the state football title on Dec. 5.

The state track and field meet will be Feb. 27-28, and tennis, golf and swimming will be decided in a tournament May 9.

The state baseball tournament will be May 16.

There will be no post-season games, Linse added.

In the event an ambitious school outside the conference questions the state champion, that school will be told to joi up, or to put it bluntly, shut up.

In the event you wonder where Central Catholic's perennially powerful Buttons are, why they are in San Antonio, league orphans.

Cental Catholic won championships in football, basketball and track during the latest seasons with an enrollment of 600 students.

Peacock, for example, has never won any type of athletic contest from the Buttons.

So the league restricts participation to schools with 350 male students or less.

In the case of Concordia, much less.  The little Lutheran school, who always made a good showing against the superior masses of Central Catholic, has a total enrollment of less than 80 students.

Source:  The Austin American, Wednesday, June 11, 1952, Page 21

TAPPS All-Time Volleyball Championships (1978-2023)

8 - Houston St. Agnes Academy (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2019, 2021)

7 - Lubbock Trinity Christian (1999, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019)

6 - Austin St. Michael's Catholic Academy (1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2016)

6 - Hallettsville Sacred Heart (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2003, 2005)

6 - Plano Prestonwood Christian Academy (2003, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2022, 2023)

6 - Wichita Falls Christ Academy (2012, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

6 - Wichita Falls Notre Dame (1987, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2019)

5 - Arlington Grace Preparatory Academy (2012, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023)

5 - Houston Second Baptist School (1990, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007)

5 - Red Oak Ovilla Christian School (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023)

4 - Argyle Liberty Christian (2006, 2020, 2022, 2023)

4 - Dallas Bishop Lynch (2004, 2008, 2012, 2013)

4 - Fort Worth Christian (1978, 1984, 1985, 1988)

4 - Round Rock Christian Academy (2012, 2017, 2021, 2022)

4 - San Antonio Antonian (1998, 2006, 2009, 2017)

3 - Addison Trinity Christian (1991, 2007, 2011)

3 - Amarillo San Jacinto Christian Academy (2007, 2010, 2013)

3 - Baytown Christian Academy (2001, 2002, 2004)

3 - Bryan Allen Academy (1979, 2000, 2002)

3 - Bryan Brazos Christian (2000, 2001, 2014)

3 - Carrollton Prince of Peace Christian (2011, 2013, 2019)

3 - DeSoto Canterbury Episcopal School (2005, 2010, 2011)

3 - El Paso Jesus Chapel School (1996, 1999, 2000)

3 - Fort Worth Country Day School (1980, 1982, 1983)

3 - Mesquite Dallas Christian School (1981, 1996, 1997)

3 - Richardson Canyon Creek Christian (2007, 2008, 2009)

3 - San Antonio Keystone School (1998, 1999, 2023)

3 - Tomball Concordia Lutheran (2009, 2010, 2016)

2 - Alvin Living Stones Christian (2006, 2007)

2 - Bulverde Bracken Christian (2007, 2008)

2 - Denton Calvary Academy (2012, 2015)

2 - Houston Life Christian (1996, 1998)

2 - Lubbock All Saints Episcopal School (2016, 2021)

2 - Lubbock Christian (1994, 1996)

2 - New Braunfels Christian Academy (2019, 2020)

2 - Seguin Lifegate Christian (1992, 2003)

2 - Shiner St. Paul Catholic (1993, 1994)

2 - Victoria St. Joseph (2018, 2020)

2 - Waxahachie Preparatory Academy (2014, 2016)

1 - Abilene Christian (2006)

1 - Amarillo Arbor Christian (2009)

1 - Arlington The Oakridge School (1985)

1 - Arlington Pantego Christian (1995)

1 - Austin Brentwood Christian (2015)

1 - Dallas Parish Episcopal School (2008)

1 - Ennis St. John High School (1986)

1 - Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal School (2017)

1 - Fort Worth Masonic Home (1999)

1 - Fort Worth Nolan Catholic (1987)

1 - Geneva School of Boerne (2010)

1 - Granbury North Central Texas Academy (2017)

1 - Grand Prairie Shady Grove Christian (1990)

1 - Heritage Christian (1989)*

1 - Houston Northland Christian (2020)

1 - La Marque Abundant Life Christian (1996)

1 - Longview Christian (2006)

1 - Midland Classical Academy (2018)

1 - Mission Juan Diego Academy (2015)

1 - Pasadena Faith Christian (1993)

1 - Regents School of Austin (2006)

1 - Rockwall Heritage Christian (2016)

1 - San Antonio Gateway Christian (2002)

1 - San Antonio Incarnate Word High School (2001)

1 - San Antonio Providence Catholic (1999)

1 - San Marcos Hill Country Christian (1998)

1 - Schertz St. John Paul II (2021)

1 - Schulenberg Bishop Forest (1988)

1 - Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian Academy (2021)

1 - Terrell Christian (1991)

1 - Waco Live Oak Classical School (2017)

1 - Waxahachie Cornerstone Christian (2001)