Seton Hall Prep football team will travel to Dublin, Ireland, to kick off season on Aug. 25

Jeff Goldberg Published: August 18, 2023 | Updated: August 16, 2023 3 minutes read

The Seton Hall Prep football team gets ready to take the field in last season against Pope John at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway. For the first time in program history, the Pirates are traveling to Dublin, Ireland, to battle Baylor School from Chattanooga, Tenn., to kick off the 2023 season on Friday, Aug. 25, at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. (File Photo).

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep football Pirates will be taking a large contingent of players, coaches, administrators, parents and other family members on a long road trip of a lifetime to Dublin, Ireland, to face the Baylor School from Chattanooga, Tenn., in the Global Ireland Football Tournament at Energia Park in Donnybrook Stadium on Friday, Aug. 25, at 10:30 a.m. eastern standard time.

The unique kickoff to the new season will see Seton Hall Prep from the No. 3-ranked conference in the country, the Super Football Conference–United Red Division, against the Baylor School, which is in the No. 4-ranked conference in the country, Tennessee Division II-AAA East.

When asked about the trip, senior quarterback Liam Londergan said, “It’s going to be a very exciting trip, and with a name like Londergan, having the opportunity to go to Ireland, where my grandfather came from, is going to be extremely special for me. It’s important for us to still treat the game like any other game, continue to work hard, watch film and be ready to play a very good Baylor team.”

Tyler Dunn, a tackle, added, “I’m extremely excited about the trip to another country to begin the season. We will be gaining some valuable knowledge about Ireland to kick off our season in a unique way.”

SHP’s top kicker-punter Jack Catchpole said, “It’s going to be great to learn about Irish culture, but it is still about the

game against a tremendous opponent in Baylor.”

Senior defensive back and Ohio State commit Jaylen McClain said, “To go across to Ireland is going to be tremendous, and it is another great way for our team, which is very close to begin with, to continue to bond. It is just another game that we will be playing, so our focus must be on that and we have to keep pushing ourselves, on and off the field, in order to be prepared to compete at a high level against what we know will be a first-rate opponent in Baylor. We have some real good experience coming back, which is a big deal for this team. We know that every team we will be playing this season will be really good, so we have to learn as much as possible about each opponent and then be ready to make plays on the field.”

Head coach Bill Fitzgerald, who begins his sixth season at the Pirate helm, has previously traveled to Ireland in 2016 with St. Peter’s Prep, where he served as an assistant coach. “What stood out to me from the trip in 2016 was how extremely organized everything surrounding the event was and how outstanding all the people were,” Fitzgerald said. “We are ready to play in Ireland. This will be a test of our maturity and that is why we are taking this trip. The way we have been practicing and behaving and our commitment to the sport has really impressed me.”

The Pirates, who went 6-6 last fall, are ranked in the following preseason polls: