The John Paul II Catholic High School football program will transition to all 11-man games beginning in the fall of 2023.
The Saints have an overall record of 20-12 since starting football in 2019. After going 2-6 in their inaugural season, they are 18-6 including two trips to the NCISAA 8-man Division II state championship game. Even though the Saints have played in an 8-man league, they have played seven 11-man games between the 2021 & 2022 seasons going 5-2 and starting this season 3-0.
Prior to starting the football program, both 8-man and 11-man options were explored. After looking at the amount of travel involved with potential 11-man opponents at the time along with only 23 players, the decision was made to play 8-man football. “Sometimes you have to walk before you can run, and I think that’s what the 8-man game has allowed us to do,” Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Sean Murphy said. The school now has 230 students and the football roster has doubled to 46 players.
“Before I came to JPII, I had never coached 8-man football. It was a new challenge for me personally to start a program from scratch in a different format. It’s a great game, but unfortunately there are some who have the perception that 8-man players are not recruited for the next level which is simply not true. Including this year’s senior class, we will have graduated a total of 20 players and several of them have been recruited and are playing or will play in college,” Murphy said.
Saints football will wait until 2025 to join an 11-man league. They will play as an independent in 2023 & 2024 and be eligible for postseason play. In 2025, JPII will be moving to the Big East Conference for football only which currently consists of Grace Christian, Harrells Christian, North Raleigh Christian, Ravenscroft, Trinity Christian, and Wake Christian.
