Football Tackles Coaches’ Hometown

By Katie Noble and Ava Wille

On August 23, the McNicholas football team traveled to Steubenville, Ohio, the hometown of Varsity Football Coach Mr. Mike Orlando and Defensive Coordinator Coach Mr. Shawn Gillette. McNicholas lost the game against Steubenville High School by two points.

“I couldn’t have been prouder by the way that we played…something that Steubenville prides themselves in is kind of being the intimidator…I thought our kids stepped up to that, they didn’t back down, they weren’t intimidated,” Gillette said.

The McNicholas Rockets Football Team fell to the Steubenville Big Red Football Team on the road on August 23, 2024. For Head Coach Mike Orlando and Defensive Coordinater Shawn Gillette it was a chance to return to their hometown of Steubenville.

This game was one of the more competitive games the Rockets have played, with opportunities to grow and learn from one of the larger football schools in Ohio. Gillette said it was important that the team was “able to go someplace and experience small town football and not just in Cincinnati.” He added, “Coach Orlando said this multiple times in interviews — we thought it was time for us to be able to give our kids some really cool experiences and a little bit selfishly from his end, and I was very happy from my end, because we’re both from there knowing what small town football is like.”

Orlando’s son, senior Sam Orlando, played his first game of the season with his extended family there to watch. “It was really cool. My dad and grandpa played on that field, so that was really cool for me to play on the same field as them,” Sam Orlando said. Coach Mike Orlando, who attended Catholic Central, was coached by his own father, Jim Orlando, and now coaches his son, senior Sam Orlando. “[My dad] coached for 40-something years; he was always my coach in football in high school, but he never coached my position… so it was kind of different,” Mike Orlando said.

Gillette was also coached by Mike Orlando’s dad while he attended Steubenville High School. Gillette found himself at McNick after finishing his collegiate coaching career at Watterson High School in Columbus. Through Coach Orlando’s dad, Jim, Gillette was able to reach out to Mike Orlando about a position on his coaching staff.

Together, Orlando and Gillette worked along with 12 other coaches to start the 2024-2025 football season off with a battle against Steubenville (18-16) and two wins against Wheelersburg (34-3) and KIPP (31-2). The Rockets played Roger Bacon on Friday, Sept. 13 and won/lost (27-6). On Friday, Sept. 20, the Rockets are home again for Homecoming to face Purcell-Marian.

Coach Gillette watches a play from the sidelines on Friday, September 13 against Roger Bacon. Coach Gillette is the Defensive Coordinator and in his 13^th year of coaching at McNicholas.