October 8, 2026

DM Express

Here is the latest news from DeMatha:

• TICKET DEADLINE NOV. 1 - The DeMatha Hall of Fame Ceremony will be held on Sunday, November 8 in the Looney Convocation Center from 2:30pm to 6pm. Click here for tickets and details. 
  
• DeMatha Admissions will host an Open House on Sunday, November 1 from 11:00-1:30pm. Welcome concert starts at 10:30. Information session starts at 11:00. Register here. Please share.
  
• Thank you for helping spread the word about our Information Sessions. We had record attendance.
  
• It is Spirit Week at DeMatha. Each day is a different theme for style of dress and activities for the students. The football team plays Good Counsel on Friday at 7 at the Sports & Learning Complex. The annual Homecoming Dance is Saturday on campus.
  
• For the past 10 days, 17 exchange students and three chaperones from St. Joseph's in Chateau-Thierry, France visited DeMatha and toured various historical sites. They stayed with host families and returned home to France after Tuesday's farewell dinner.

• Our local state senator, Alonzo Washington, visited DeMatha yesterday and spoke to members of the varsity football team about his journey as a Prince George's County native, UMD football player, and politician.
  
• The Kaleidoscope Concert is happening October 24, 2026. Sponsorship, donation opportunities and tickets are available here.

• The next DeMatha Express will come out on October 15.

In Memoriam:

• Pat O'Brien Brady. Friend of DeMatha. Mrs. Brady was a former teacher at St. Mark's Catholic School. Funeral is on Tuesday, October 13 at Holy Redeemer, Kensington. The viewing is from 10-11am. Funeral is at 11am.
  
• Russ Maffay '77. Funeral arrangements.
  
• Kenneth Santill, brother of Emidio '70. Obituary.

Athletics:

• The DeMatha football team (5-1) defeated Mt. Zion last Friday by a 42-6 margin. The team has a big game tomorrow night at 7 versus Good Counsel at the Sports & Learning Complex. Here is a write-up of last week's game by Diego Aguillen '27. 
  
  Ticket info for tomorrow (please note there is a small tech issue with their website and the link will take you to a page where you will need to click the red "Back to All Events" to purchase tickets for tomorrow's game). The game will be streamed here.
  
• The members of the varsity football team are wearing stickers on their helmets the rest of the season in support of Brenda McGregor, wife of Bill, in her ongoing battle with cancer. Brenda has been a tremendous supporter of the team and the players down through the years. This sticker is to show Brenda the support of the DeMatha community. God Bless.
  
• The varsity soccer team beat Ireton and St. Mary's Ryken in the past week to improve to 6-2-3 on the season. The team hosts Carroll HS at 4:30 today at the Sports & Learning Complex and then O'Connell Tuesday at 3:30pm at the same location. The Carroll game is Senior Celebration.

• The cross country team was off last weekend. The squad races at the Maryland XC Invitational this Saturday, October 10. This is the last regular season meet before the WCAC Championship on October 24.

Alumni:

• Ryan Burruss ’96 will be promoting his new novel, American Crow, “a historical horror that packs an emotional wallop”, on Friday, October 30 7:00pm, at Solid State Books in Washington, D.C. RSVP required. Book is available at Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.

• Jeremy Skaife '16 married September 19th. It was attended by his Best Man and brother, Caleb Skaife ’17, Ryan Sweeney ’15, Teddy Whitehead, ’17 and Pat Malloy ’16. All DeMatha hockey varsity teammates from 2014-17.
  
• Jordan Hawkins '21 has signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls.
  
• Steve Settle '19 has signed a contract with the Washington Wizards organization.
  
• Dennard Wilson '00, the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, was singled out by Giants HC Jim Harbaugh after last week's win over Arizona. New York plays at Washington this Sunday.
  
• The '83 Open golf tournament will be played tomorrow at Renditions GC. The event is well attended by members of the class of '83 as well as a number of alumni guests.
  
• Colin Lappin '27 is the recipient of this year's Mickey Steele '74 Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a senior, who is expected to be a "glue guy" on the baseball team as Mickey once was back in the day. On hand yesterday were Father Albert, Coach Steve Miller '81, Craig Gough '85 and Ronny Steele (Mickey's brother). Craig and Ronny are part of an annual golf tournament held each year in Mickey's memory which benefits several charities, including DeMatha. 

Events & Miscellaneous Information:

• We are looking to capture drone footage of campus but are running into air traffic safety restrictions. If you have a contact who may be able to help us obtain approval/access, please contact jcibor@dematha.org.
  
• Come join us for our next R&B Meet-Up on Thursday, October 15th from 6pm-8pm. It will be taking place at Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington, VA (2051 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22201). RSVP here.
  
  The first drink will be covered by DeMatha. We look forward to seeing everyone on October 15th.
  
• Hockey "The Cooler" Dinner & Auction will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 from 6:00-10:00pm in the Antler Room. Tickets available here. Must be over 21.

• Have alumni news to share? Submit Alumni News form.

• Stay connected with the Stag community by following DeMatha Stag on Facebook for alumni happenings, reunions, traditions, and stories.

Stag Store Item of the Week

As we transition from summer to fall and from September to October, we remember those transitioning into a life they never imagined. Help support our efforts to combat the harsh realities of life with cancer. All proceeds from this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness item, a lightweight baseball hat, go to the Red Devils in Baltimore. Find out more about this worthy cause in the item description! Click here to order.

$25

Jennifer Cibor

Director of Marketing and Communications

jcibor@dematha.org

240-764-2231

Postscript

Since 2019, over 50 DeMatha students have gone on to attend US service academies. It would be hard to find many high schools who can match DeMatha in this accomplishment.

What is the reason? "Our students like that they (the academies) offer leadership opportunities," said Andrew Bright '03, the long serving Director of College Counseling. "There is also the brotherhood aspect. And, they want to serve other people and help in a deep and meaningful way. The service academies allow them to do that."

Andrew and his staff begin working with students when they enter junior year. At that time, students will disclose that they are interested in a service academy. "There are many ways to help the students decide," Andrew said. "Some go on a candidate visit. Others will go on a summer seminar to get an idea of what it would be like to attend. Some emerge from that experience saying, 'This isn't for me.' But I will say that 90 percent come back and are more energized."

Getting an appointment has its challenges. Each candidate needs a congressional (or Vice Presidential) nomination. Securing a nomination is not always easy, especially since DeMatha is in Maryland and is in close proximity to the US Naval Academy, which makes it a popular choice for candidates.

Each fall, the reps from the academies visit DeMatha and outline the process. "The process is a roller coaster ride. Besides obtaining the nomination, sometimes a student will hear back that a certain part of an application has not been fully completed or more information is requested," Andrew said.

For various reasons, some students will receive an appointment with the requirement that they spend a year in prep school. DeMatha has also had students who initially were not accepted but applied the following year and eventually got in.

By Andrew's count, at the Naval Academy alone, there are eight Stags in Annapolis now as we speak. Each year at the Army-Navy football game, DeMatha alums from both academies find a way to meet and take a DeMatha picture.  

Suffice to say, they are proud Stags who proudly have begun serving our country.

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