Athletics
The athletic teams, known as the Fightin' Irish, compete in the West Catholic Athletic League. There are 22 teams and 53 sport levels for boys and girls at SHC split into Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. Boys and girls cross country, football, girls golf, girls tennis, and girls volleyball all occur in the fall. Boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, and wrestling compete in the winter. Baseball, softball, boys volleyball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys golf, boys tennis, boys and girls swimming, and boys and girls track and field finish the year's athletics in the spring.
Sacred Heart Cathedral's long time cross-town rival is Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. The rivalry is considered the longest west of the Rockies and the oldest Catholic school rivalry in the country. The two schools compete annually for The Bruce Mahoney Trophy trophy. Named after Bill Bruce, a student from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, and Jerry Mahoney, a student from then-Sacred Heart High School, in dedication of the loss of their lives while fighting in World War II. The trophy goes to the school victorious in the first scheduled league game in two out of three of the following men's sports: football, basketball, and baseball. Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory won the trophy in the 2011-2012 school year by sweeping the football (38-14) and basketball (45-37) games. The first Sacred Heart-St. Ignatius contest was a rugby game played on St. Patrick's Day in 1893. The Irish won by a score of 14-4 (3 touchdowns and two PAT's to one TD and a missed PAT). One of the players, D.A. White, went on to be Chief of Police in San Francisco.
Other cross-town rivals are the Crusaders of Archbishop Riordan High School. The varsity football teams compete against each other annually for the Stanfel Cup which was started in 1992. Dick Stanfel (Richard Anthony Stanfel) played at Riordan and was a coach at Sacred Heart. He attended The University of San Francisco and was drafted to the Detroit Lions in the 2nd round, 19th overall in the 1951 NFL Draft. Most recently, in 2011, the Stanfel Cup was won by Sacred Heart Cathedral for the fourth consecutive year, 35-7.
The girls basketball team has had major success at Sacred Heart Cathedral. SHC has won the state title four times: in 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2008. In the 2006-07 season, the Irish went undefeated in one of the toughest leagues (West Catholic Athletic League) in the nation, with three wins over 2007 Division II champion, Archbishop Mitty High School and three wins over arch-rival St. Ignatius. They were ranked the best team in the nation in the end of the 07-08 season. They won the USA Today National Championship in 2007-2008.
The girls volleyball team grew into prominence in the 2000s as well. Under head coach Margi Beima, SHC volleyball has won 6 Central Coast Section Championships and 4 Northern California Championships, appearing in the State Division III Finals four times. SHC has qualified for the CIF State Tournament eight years straight. Many players have graduated from SHC and had successful college athletic careers.
On September 10, 2011, the varsity football team set a national record, returning five fumbles for touchdowns against St. Mary's of Berkeley. The mark bested the NCAA all-division record, the NFL record and the recognized high school record for more fumbles returned for touchdowns. The touchdown scorers were Zach Tapel, Tom Wallace, Viliami Uikilifi, John Morello, and Dennis Light.
The Irish won three CCS Division III titles in the winter season in 2011-2012. Boys basketball, girls basketball, and boys soccer all took home titles on the same day, with the soccer team winning their first in program history. Both the boys and girls volleyball teams also won CCS in 2011-12, setting the all-time school record for most CCS titles in a single season at five. In addition, the boys basketball team also won the Northern California championship.
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