In 1842 Father Edward Soren of the Congregation of Holy Cross travelled to a frozen patch of land at the northern tip of Indiana with the intent to establish a school after years of scratching together a small student body from the brutal winter landscape. Soren then watched helplessly as a fire burned his fledgling creation to the ground. Undeterred, he declared that the fire was simply a sign that he had not dreamed big enough and immediately commenced to a much grander rebuilding effort.

In addition to Soren own determination, the school’s ability to endure was rooted in the involvement and strength of the Catholic Church. The addition of unparalleled academic standards quickly earned Soren’s school a reputation as a premier destination for secondary education. But it was not until 1989 and the unlikely arrival of a Norwegian immigrant by the name of Newt Rockne, did so in school become a household name, and an American phenomenon.

A scant 10 years after Soren began his efforts to build the University of Notre Dame, a remarkably similar scenario began to unfold in Jackson Mississippi. This time led by the Sisters of Mercy and the formation of St. Joseph’s Catholic School. In this iteration of the story the Catholic Church would seek to establish its school in the least Catholic state in the country. The bitter cold of northern Indiana was replaced by the sweltering heat and humidity of the Deep South.

The destructive fire that razed Soren’s early school was this time delivered by the sword of General Sherman of the Union Army. Along with a deadly bout of yellow fever thrown in for good measure. St. Joe’s version of Newt Rodney came in the form of a young Lebanese coach by the name of Bill Rayfield who displayed the same pension for innovation and discipline as Rodney similar to his fighting Irish counterpart.

Rayfield also chose to establish St. Joe’s gridiron excellence and notoriety by playing games outside its immediate geographic footprint and by challenging larger schools these efforts culminated in 1972 when St. Joe toppled the Goliath of Mississippi high school football in what is widely considered the greatest football upset in the history of the state. Much like the University of Notre Dame, it was football success that first ushered St. Joe into the consciousness of many Mississippians. But gridiron victories coupled with rigorous academic standards and a deep devotion to faith is what solidified the school as a torchbearer of educational excellence in Mississippi.