2012 COACHES
COACH JOE PATTERSON Joe Patterson (SJC Class of 1993) is entering his ninth season as the head coach of St. John’s. During his first eight seasons, the Cadets made the playoffs seven times and beat archrival Gonzaga six times. The Cadets have also spent at least a portion of seven out of the eight seasons in The Washington Post’s Top Twenty, which places them well within the top ten percent of Metropolitan Area football programs. The 50-29 regular season record over the eight seasons is the best eight-year stretch for St. John’s football since the 1970s. This is Coach Patterson’s 16th year as a high school football coach. He spent five years as the head freshman coach at St. John’s before moving on to the varsity staff at Georgetown Prep. During the course of his two years at Prep, the Little Hoyas amassed a 17-1 record and secured a No. 1 ranking in The Washington Post. SJC’s success versus Gonzaga (the Cadets winning six out of the last eight games) has been a true reversal of fortunes as prior to Coach Patterson’s taking over, Gonzaga had won 22 of the previous 25 matchups.
Coach Patterson with his wife Jana (and unborn Maximilian) and (left to right) Tommy (age 7), Eddie (age 4), Anne (age 9), Bernadette (age 2), and Patrick (age 6). During his time as the varsity head coach at St. John’s, Coach Patterson has coached four All-Americans, including Rico McCoy (2004), Tony Tucker (2006), Peter White (2008), and Kevin McReynolds (2010). In addition, 54 of his players have gone on to play Division I-A or Division I-AA football. Coach Patterson was only 28 years old when he was named head varsity coach at St. John’s. He graduated as valedictorian from St. John’s and was taught by SJC Hall of Famers Doonie Waldron (Class of 1949) and Joe Gallagher (Class of 1939). Coach Patterson began teaching and coaching at St. John’s after graduating Summa Cum Laude with a triple major from Villanova University. He later received his Master’s Degree from the Catholic University of America. During his teaching career at St. John’s, Coach Patterson has won three different Teacher-of- the-Year awards, including the Archdiocese’s Veteran Teacher of the Year Award. Coach Patterson currently teaches Honors American Literature. During his tenure at St. John’s, he has also taught a Poe and Hawthorne senior elective, Advanced Editing, Multi-Media Journalism, Print Journalism, Video Journalism, Sophomore Scholars, English 10, and World History. Coach Patterson lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Jana, his daughters Anne and Bernadette, and his four sons, Tommy, Patrick, Edward, and soon-to-be-born Maximilian.
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ST. JOHN’S FOOTBALL: FALL 2012