Dear Crusader Alumni, Families, and Friends.
Remember, it is STILL the Easter Season, so don’t let anyone tell you to stop eating jelly beans! He is risen, Alleluia!
Spring has sprung, and much like the blossoming trees we love to see all of the amazing things blossoming here in Steubenville Catholic Schools! Take a look!
We are hiring both at CCHS and at BJKM! See below for details.
We felt the love with all of the amazing support that went into the PAW-some production of Disney’s The Lion King Jr.! See our recap and all the incredible sponsors who made it possible in Amazing Art
We feature Tony Recinella (’66) and the founding of Crusader Soccer in the Crusader Heritage Section!
There’s a lot more, check out this month’s recap:
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1. Focused On Faith
2. Crusaders in the Classroom
3. Awesome Athletes
4. Amazing Art
5. Crusader Heritage – Tony Recinella ’66 Spotlight
6. Making it Possible – PICK 4 is BACK!
7. Crusader Quote
Click here to make sure you are emailed these updates at the end of each month!
Before we dive into our April E-blast…
See our job openings!
If you or someone you know wants to help give the gift of Catholic education to our young Crusaders by working here, click below to learn more or apply today!
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Focused On Faith
Crucifixion Anatomy
During Holy Week, Mr. Federoff’s Anatomy and Physiology students applies their knowledge to the Crucifixion.
Using precise anatomical terms and descriptions, students presented the injuries that our Lord suffered during His Passion. This served as a powerful lesson in pathophysiology and a deep meditation on Christ’s sacrifice going into the Triduum.
CCHS Awards
Congratulations to our 3rd Quarter CCHS Awards Winners!
Each quarter, we are honored to recognize ten individuals who serve as shining examples of our charisms of Courage, Character, Heart, and Spirit. Thank you, students, for the gift you have been to your Crusader community!
Easter Parade!
We celebrated this holy season at BJKM with a fun parade and a special visitor!
In Memory of Monroe DeLuca
We were blessed to receive a $10,000 check for Monroe’s scholarship!
This fund was established by her parents, Amanda and Sal DeLuca, to honor the memory of their daughter Monroe and provide tuition assistance for students in our HOPE program.
It is even more meaningful to receive this gift during our first ever BJKM Inclusion Week!.
We ask that our whole Crusader family pray for the DeLuca’s and for the repose of Monroe’s soul, especially during this hopeful Easter season.
Living Stations
To prepare for the Triduum and Easter, our BJKM 4th graders took part in the annual tradition of delivering a beautiful performance of the Living Stations.
Entering into the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus prepares us to rejoice in His Resurrection!
Thank you to our dedicated faculty and staff who share the Faith with our students!
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Crusaders in the Classroom
Geography Bee
Good job to the top ten finalists of our annual Geography Bee!
A special congratulations to Linus Hanlin for placing 1st, Lulu Clum for 2nd, and Thomas Tygett for 3rd! Way to go Crusaders!
Grandparent’s Day at BJKM
Our BJKM K-3 graders were so excited to welcome their grandparents and special friends to campus! Visitors were able to attend Mass, witness classroom activities, and tour where their loved ones learn and grow. Thank you to all of our visitors!
Senior Trip to Cincinnati
They weren’t playing hooky – this was an approved trip!
Our Seniors went to Cincinnati and had a blast!
Prom 2026
Our 2026 Prom was a fun time of good memories! Some of our students took the stage and played some great tunes!
Split the Marshmallows – not the Atom!
Our 7th grade used marshmallows and skittles to show the nucleus and electron shells/electrons of an atom.
Key Club at Kiwanis
The CCHS Key Club hosted at a recent Kiwanis Meeting. Our current and incoming advisors spoke on projects our Key Club completed this year and our plans for next year.
Learning about the Body with Bacon
Mr. Federoff’s Anatomy & Physiology students completed their course capstone project, the Fetal Pig dissection.
Smaller dissections over the course of the school year gave them opportunities to practice surgical techniques, observation, and description skills. All this prior work comes together over two weeks as the various body systems are revealed, removed, and examined. As pig and human physiology are very similar, the students had a very realistic and memorable experience.
Solar Racing!
Our 8th grade learned how solar powered cars worked. After they built their cars, they raced them outside!
Chess Club Conclusion
We had our last Chess Club meeting of the school year. Thank you Mr. Rawson for the gift of your time and talent in leading and instructing these young people each week!
Some of our members were at dress rehearsal for their musical so are not pictured but all agree that Chess Club is the best!
New Recess Activities!
Thanks to some generous donors our kindergarten enjoyed some new recess activities! They also received corn hole, ring toss and Velcro ball toss sets. We are blessed!
Thank you to all our faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and volunteers who work so hard to give our Crusaders a top-tier Catholic education!
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Awesome Athletes
Track Achievements
Our Crusader Track and Field teams competed in the 55th Annual Shadyside Relays earlier this month. Overall, our Lady Crusaders tied for 11th and our Boys placed 6th.
Seniors James Mcnnis and Cash Dobson brought home gold for their respective high jump and 3200m run. Joe Owen and Alex Federoff claimed 4th place for the 400m dash and discus, while the both the 4x400m relay and the 4x800m relay teams also scored 4th and Braylon Wilson placed 5th for his shot put.
Senior Mary Rohde claimed silver for the 1600m, 4th in the 800m, and 5th for the high jump! The ladies finished 6th in the 4x400m relay. Congratulations Crusaders! Go Blue!
New Coach
Steubenville CCHS is proud to announce the hiring of Greg Bahen as the new head coach of the Crusaders football program!
Coach Bahen is bringing 17 years of football coaching to our Crusader tradition. He has shown dedication and success in his previous years of coaching Columbus DeSales High School, especially in their successful 2020 State Runner-Up season. Coach Bahen is excited to continue his family’s legacy at Central, with his father being a 1981 alum and uncle the longtime Central Coach Gregg Bahen.
Saluting Softball Seniors
We honored our seniors with a W! 14-13 over Wellsville for Senior night! Congrats and God bless Ladies!
2025-2026 Spring Sports
Make sure you check below for the Athletics Schedules:
Click Here for Junior Crusader Athletics
Thank you to Franciscan University of Steubenville for generously sponsoring the Awesome Athletes Section for the 2025-2026 School Year!
We are so grateful for their support of our mission of Catholic education here in Steubenville!
Thank you to our Athletics Staff, Coaches, and Volunteers for making our sports programs a reality for our students!
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Amazing Arts!
New Crusader Mural!
Senior Karlie Nelson did a beautiful job on the new mural outside CCHS as her NHS project! Thank you Karlie!
Spring has Sprung
We are incredibly impressed with the talent and dedication our BJKM students have shown in the Spring Art Showcase. Good job Crusaders!
Art History Connection
Our third graders learned about Thomas Cole, the famous American landscape painter who had lived in Steubenville, and created their own landscape masterpieces!
Lion King Jr.!
Our BJKM drama club put on a roaring production of Disney’s Lion King Jr.!
Congrats to all our student actors and our directors and volunteers!
“We are all connected in the great Circle of Life…” – we want to thank our sponsors to date who have generously made this production possible!
Star Sponsor
Mr. Gary Mark Smith
Platinum Sponsors
Countryside Kennels Pet Boarding
Blue Level Sponsor
Naples Steak and Spaghetti House
Phyllis & David Bottegal & Family
Teri Cowan Daley
Gold Level Sponsors
Village Sleep Center | Coen Landscapes | A&B Sunset Pharmacy | Hickle Family | Mosti Funeral Home | Richard Sherrin & Associates | Wheeler Funeral Home | Tom & Irene Bowers | Anonymous Crusader Alumni | David & Mary Mosko | Kathleen & Louis Meehan | Kitsy Minor | Joey & Deb Lamantia | Anonymous | St. Agnes Church | Anonymous Friend | Piero P. Cozza, Esq. and Dickie McCamey Cozza Family
For Love of Performing Arts Sponsors
Laura & Paul Tetro | Kevin & Alissa Bailey | Dr. William Grant | Matt & Colleen Shepherd | Morrow Family | Anonymous | Cardinal Operating Co. | Cryogenic Construction | Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1
THANK YOU to all of our generous sponsors for making our Drama Program Possible!
Alfombras from Guatemala
Spanish students learned about Guatemalan traditions, including processions that feature the creation of alfombras (carpets) made from brightly colored sawdust.
During these processions, participants carry floats that can weigh up to 7,000 pounds. Students in grades 1–6 designed their own alfombras as a symbolic gesture of unity with the people of Guatemala, while preparing for and reflecting on Christ’s Passion.
Thank you to our Art Teachers, Band Directors and volunteers who make the arts possible for our students!
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Crusader Heritage
Alumni Spotlight: Tony Recinella Class of ’66
Founding Father of Crusader Soccer
Tony Recinella’s story is one of determination and hard work to overcome challenges to leave a legacy for generations of Crusader athletes to this day.
Tony had come to Steubenville from Italy just a few years before attending CCHS. Father Belfield helped him learn English, and Tony graduated as a Crusader of the Class of 1966. “During those years it was a learning experience for me. I enjoyed the friendship of my classmates and watching sports events.”
Tony later went on to serve in the United States Air Force, work for Weirton Steel, Ohio Edison, and the Ohio Department of Workers Compensation, attended Jefferson Technical College earned a Business Associate Degree and after in 1993 earning his Bachelors in Business from Wheeling Jesuit. In a special way post graduation that not many Crusaders can claim, he has left his mark on CCHS and the Steubenville area, being what could be described as one of “Founding Fathers” of Soccer in the Ohio Valley.
“Back in the late 70’s me and about a dozen other guys were invited to a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce by Joe Kennedy. He had seen kids playing soccer while on vacation in Virginia, and wanted to see if there was interest in starting it here. We thought it was a good idea.”
Tony and the group started what became the Jefferson Kiwanis Youth Soccer Club. It became popular as more and more families started to enjoy the game of soccer. At one time there were 700 to 900 youths playing soccer in this area. As the years went by and the kids started getting older, the successes grew. Tony led the co-ed U-16 Travel Team, Steubenville Raiders to take the Ohio State Runner Up title in 1988.
Despite this, there was still some skepticism about whether this “new fad” would catch on, and local high schools were hesitant to start teams of their own. The amazing run by the CCHS club team class of 1989 during their last year, convinced CCHS, that they needed to officially start Crusader varsity soccer. The problem was that money was tight, and the soccer team would need to be self-supporting. “We had been self supporting for a while, so we went ahead with it. We did carwashes etc. to raise money, but it was really a very loyal group of donors who stuck with us and made sure soccer was possible for our kids.”
The Soccer program thrived, splitting into Boys and Girls’ soccer in 1997, and becoming a fully school supported athletic program in 2006. Tony coached until 2005, then stepping away to be with his sick first wife, Pat Recinella. She was a teacher at Holy Rosary School for many years. She passed away in 2006 after 36 years of marriage. In the final years of his leadership, he tackled one final challenge that had plagued the team – securing a permanent field.
“Every year I had to go to a bunch of meetings and beg and argue for a field for these kids to play on, it was always a struggle.”
When the idea for the current Michael R. Carapellotti Athletic Complex near the Leo Buffone Football Field and Crusader Track came up, it was really just an idea. The area was not level, and full of ditches and trees. But a group of committed friends of Catholic education and our Crusader athletes came together and made it a reality.
“We had to put in a lot of fill dirt, but we made the area flat. Mr. Pipo was a retired heavy equipment operator and ran a bulldozer for us. The Carapellotti Family, especially Michael and Rita Carapelotti, stepped in and made a lot of this possible. There were many more volunteers contributing in many ways. I am so thankful for everyone’s generosity and that it all came together.” Today, decades later, the Tony Recinella Soccer Field and the Steve Zamana Softball fields are still home for our Crusader athletes.
Tony keeps in touch with his alma mater and helps out when he can because he sees Catholic education as “the future”.
We thank Tony and the countless Crusader alumni who in their own ways have worked to build CCHS and our Steubenville Catholic Schools into what they are today!
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Nominate Crusaders For Alumni Spotlights!
We love sharing the stories of our Alumni from across the decades.
We want you to nominate your favorite Crusaders for us to feature this year!
Click below and fill out the quick web-form to nominate your friends or family or let us know that you are interested having your story shared in our Blue and Gold E-blast!
Click Here To Nominate A Crusader for a Spotlight Today
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Making It Possible
Our Pick 4 Raffle is Back!
Our Pick 4 Raffle is a WHOLE LOT OF FUN each year, and the proceeds benefit the Crusader Annual Fund and support Catholic education and our Crusader students!
Daily drawings will begin June 1st, 2026 and run through November 30th 2026 – with four special prizes thrown in!
Click HERE to Buy A Ticket Today!
Buying your tickets today:
1) Gets you A LOT of chances to WIN BIG!
AND
2) Makes a big impact for our students and the tradition of Catholic education here at CCHS!
Click HERE to Buy A Ticket Today!
Thank you for investing in the future of Catholic education for our Crusaders!
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Crusader Quote
“If you live the life of a true Christopher (Christ-Bearer), then you shall always treasure this high school in your heart. For you will remember her always in deep gratitude for having taught you a way to live in this life without surrendering the bright hope of the happiness to come.”
-Bishop John King Mussio, Dedication in the 1954 Yearbook
Thank you for keeping in touch and being a part of our Crusader Family!
God bless you and GO BLUE!
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