Home Grown: Tradition, Excellence of St. Edward Has Prepared Alex Stump For Life At Ohio State

LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Hanging high in the rafters and plastered all along the walls inside the gymnasium at Lakewood St. Edward High School are banners representing achievements by the school's athletic teams. There are 56 banners that have added meaning, though: the 56 banners which represent the number of state championship teams the school's 16 varsity sports have produced since 1978.

It doesn't take but two steps inside the school to realize there is something different about this place: When it comes to St. Ed’s, nothing short of excellence is accepted.

"We’re attracting good academics, good athletics and I think the school’s in a good state so I think that’s been the case over the last 15 years," said Tom Lombardo, the head football coach at St. Edward preparing for his first season leading the Eagles. "The kids work really hard and there’s been some really solid coaches there.”

Located just outside of downtown Cleveland, St. Edward is a private, all-boys high school which competes in Division I — the largest division in Ohio high school athletics — in all of its sports. Year in and year out, the Eagles are contending for state championships in a wide array of sports. In its storied history, St. Edward has won an almost-incomprehensible 29 team state wrestling titles and 11 ice hockey state crowns. The Eagles also have won state championships in baseball (three times), track and field (twice) and football (twice).

On the gridiron, St. Edward is a force seemingly every year. The Eagles are almost always nationally ranked and play one of the strongest schedules in Ohio high school football. Last season, under the direction of Rick Finotti, St. Edward captured its second state title in school history with a 31-21 win over Huber Heights Wayne.

Following the 2014 season, though, Finotti left St. Edward to become the director of football operations at the University of Michigan. He was 62-15 over six seasons at St. Ed’s and won both of the school’s state titles.

Lombardo was named as Finotti's replacement in mid-April following an eight-year stint as head coach at Highland High school in Medina, Ohio. Prior to that, he won a state championship at Mentor Lake Catholic in 2001 and was an assistant at St. Ed's from 2002-06.

Having that previous experience of coaching the Eagles will help him deal with the pressure of one of the top jobs in Ohio high school football.

"As a coach, no matter what you’re coaching or what level you’re playing at, you want to win," Lombardo told Eleven Warriors. "But maybe from a broader perspective, a state perspective and in some ways a national perspective there's more pressure. From a national perspective, what the expectations are from around the state with the alumni and that might be higher than what it was at Highland. But I was there before so I welcome that and all I can do is do what I can. Do the best you can and see what happens.”

It's often said there's no second chance to make a first impression. If that's the case, Alex Stump knocked his out of the park with Lombardo. 

Stump played for Finotti during his time at St. Ed's before signing with Ohio State has part of its 2015 recruiting class. But before Stump left for Columbus, he made an impact on the new leader of high school alma mater.

“Early morning workouts and long two-a-day practices prepare us better than anyone in the state, I think. It’s run a lot like a college program and the coaches are real involved.”– Alex Stump

"When we first met and spoke first he was just a super respectful, well-spoken, intelligent kid. Your first impression is just ‘Wow’ and you could see why people would be impressed," Lombardo said. "Not to mention he’s 6-foot-4, 200-whatever pounds, runs real well and is a really good player. He just seemed like a really nice kid."

It shouldn't come as a surprise, though, considering Stump — a four-star wide receiver — had been around situations to prepare him to make quality first impressions throughout his entire tenure as a student-athlete at St. Edward.

The program also prepares its football players for life at the next level. In the 2015 class, the Eagles sent 12 players on to play Division I football. In addition to Stump, St. Edward also had Shaun Crawford (Notre Dame), Troy Henderson (Syracuse), Andrew Dowell (Michigan State) and David Dowell (Michigan State) sign to play at Power 5 schools.

Other former Ohio State players who hailed from St. Edward include Tom Cousineau, Alex Boone and Nate Oliver, among others.

“I love St. Ed’s, but it’s a tough program," Stump told Eleven Warriors. "Early morning workouts and long two-a-day practices prepare us better than anyone in the state, I think. It’s run a lot like a college program and the coaches are real involved.”

The results certainly back that up. 

Coaching changes can be hard on high school programs, specifically at high-level programs like St. Edward. The turnover is never easy at a place like this one.

Fortunately for Lombardo, though, the response has been all positive thus far.

"Sometimes it’s tough, but other times you get a nice, clean slate. I don’t have any preconceived notions and I told the kids that," Lombardo said. "There are adjustments, there are some things that are going to be different, but a lot of things stay the same. I think it helped that I was there before so I’m not new to St. Ed’s."

The coaching staff may be slightly different but the expectations remain the same. They remain sky high.

“There is always high expectations, but that comes with the territory of being a contender every year," Stump said. "The pressure is a good thing, I think, though, because it keeps us focused from the offseason all the way until the playoffs.”

At places like St. Ed's, there's a certain standard required for both the team and its individual players. Stump lived up to that standard while in an Eagles uniform and now he's moved on to become one of the newest members of Ohio State.

It's Lombardo's mission to continue what's already been started at one of the nation's strongest high school football programs.

“We just have to continue the excellence. It’s been established, the tradition is set and we just have to continue to develop the full player, the full student-athlete and making them great football players," Lombardo said. "I think they go hand-in-hand, I really do, and that’s what our task at hand is now.”