Helias names new football stadium, athletic facilities

Construction continues Thursday on Helias High School's athletic complex, which, the school announced Friday, will be named Crusader Athletic Complex. The football stadium will be named after former coach and teacher Ray Hentges.
Construction continues Thursday on Helias High School's athletic complex, which, the school announced Friday, will be named Crusader Athletic Complex. The football stadium will be named after former coach and teacher Ray Hentges.

The names of Helias High School's new athletic complex and the venues within it reflect the history of the school and the religious traditions that have helped build it.

Helias announced the names for its new athletic complex on Friday morning:

  • Crusader Athletic Complex is the name of the overall site.
  • The football stadium is named after Ray Hentges.
  • The soccer field and tennis pavilion are named, respectively, after Saint Jean Baptiste De La Salle and a beatified woman, Blessed Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger. Beatification is the third step before someone can be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in the fourth and final step of the process of sainthood.

"The names were chosen because of rich traditions established at Helias over the course of the last 61 years," the Rev. Stephen Jones said in a news release. Jones is the school's president.

Helias opened in 1956, and its mascot is the Crusader.

Ray Hentges Football Stadium is named after a former head football coach and teacher. Hentges joined Helias in 1964 and retired in 2009. In the 34 years in between, he led the Crusaders to bring home five state and 26 district titles.

He also was the athletic director, coached golf and basketball, as well as taught religion, biology, life science and physical science.

He and his wife, Marilyn, are members of the Immaculate Conception Parish and have five children, 17 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His son, Chris, is a teacher and former coach at Helias, and his daughter, Susie Rockers, is the activities secretary.

"I am deeply humbled and very grateful the Helias community chose to name the new football stadium after me," he said in a news release. "I share this honor with all my former players, assistant coaches, Helias parents and friends and especially my family who have supported me through the years. I am also thankful to God for the blessing of a long and very rewarding career."

The Lasallian Soccer Field is named after the saint who founded the Institute of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and who is the patron saint of teachers.

The Gerhardinger Tennis Pavilion is named in honor of the foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Helias currently has two members of the Christian Brothers and School Sisters of Notre Dame on staff. Brother Steven Schonhoff teaches junior religion, and Sister Jean Dietrich is transitioning from her role as assistant principal to take on other duties at the school like helping with academic programs, student lunch supervision and developing teachers' schedules.

Helias will host a grand opening of the Crusader Athletic Complex and its Booster Barbecue at 4 p.m. on Aug. 18; it will be just a couple hours ahead of the first home football game of the season against Hannibal.

Helias' communications coordinator, Sandy Hentges, said the festivities will have "kind of a tailgate atmosphere," with food, music and games.

Sandy said the barbecue will feature pulled pork, hot dogs and hamburgers; it will be the only part of the festivities that aren't free. She said Central Dairy will also have an ice cream truck there.

The ribbon cutting and blessing of the complex will happen at 4 p.m., and she said festivities will continue for the next couple hours until the gates open for admission to the game.

Ray Hentges Football Stadium will have 2,864 seats. The complex will also feature 225 parking spots on its north and east sides, in addition to 410 spots in the Helias school lots and an agreed-upon 100 spots in the Capital City Christian Church lot.

Sandy said Friday that workers were digging the pedestrian tunnel under Myrtle Street as she spoke. She expected the work on the street would be completed by the middle of August, in time for the grand opening.

Tia Griffin, a design engineer with the city, confirmed this and said the goal was to have Myrtle open a few days before the grand opening.