Athletics
Pope John has a full complement of boys and girls athletic programs. Currently Pope John competes in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Prior to the realignment in 2010, the school participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League. The school is categorized by the NJSIAA as Non-Public North, Group A.
Pope John is mostly known for their success in cross country and track & field. Year in and year out, The boy's cross country team as well as the track team dominate the NJAC and continue to be the most successful sports team in the school.
Through the years, its football team has had a great amount of success accumulating 20 state championships under coach Victor Paternostro. The football team won the NJSIAA North B state sectional title in 1975, 1979, 1981–83, 1986–91 and 1993, and won the Non-Public II titles in 1995-98 and 2001-02. In 2002, the football team won the Non-Public II state sectional championship with a 41-12 win against Queen of Peace High School in the tournament final. In 2009, Coach Paternostro became New Jersey's winningest high school football coach with the Lions' win over West Morris Mendham High School. Paternostro resigned from his coaching position after the 2010 season, leaving with an overall record of 373-68-5 in 43 seasons, including 20 state championships, 19 Sussex County Interscholastic League titles and two NJAC titles, and was replaced by Brain Carlson formerly from Kean University.
In 2005-06, the hockey team advanced to the state semi-finals, where they lost 3-2 to the Delbarton School. The 2003-04 team was the champions of the Northern Red division, going undefeated in conference play and winning the conference tournament. The 2002-03 team had lost the previous year in the conference championship game after winning the conference regular season title.
In March 2008, the Pope John Ski Team won its first State Championship.
Read more about this topic: Pope John XXIII Regional High School