Football preview: Marr ushering in new era of 'Fighting' Vikings football

Aug. 26—At the end of his job interview in March for the first head coaching job he has ever held, Nate Marr stepped out onto the new turf field at St. John's Catholic Prep with athletic director Stu Wilson.

It was near sunset and, off in the distance, the fading sunlight glistened off the mountains.

"I looked at the [new] stadium, the mountains. I remember thinking to myself, 'If they offer me this job, I am taking it,'" the 27-year-old Marr said. "There is so much potential here."

Marr is ushering in a new era of football at St. John's. He and his staff are leaning heavily on their credentials as former college coaches.

Marr was a student-assistant coach at West Virginia University before joining the staff at his alma mater, McDaniel College, where he was the running backs coach and co-special teams coordinator, as well as the recruiting coordinator and director of football operations.

He jokes that he held every position he could possibly hold for McDaniel football except head coach.

Marr's co-head coach and offensive coordinator at St. John's, Scott Browning, served as the head coach at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania for 10 years after serving as the receivers and running backs coach at Ohio State.

And his defensive coordinator, Mac Juniorson, served as an assistant at his alma mater, Bowie State.

"If you are going to follow us, if you are going to believe in what we are doing, you've gotta believe in the people that are leading you," Marr said.

So far, the roughly 40 players on the St. John's roster do just that.

"He's one of the greatest coaches I have ever played for," said sophomore Shane Meyer, the only returning player with quarterback experience on the roster who will take over the position.

The 6-foot-1, strong-armed Meyer watched the Vikings struggle to win any games last season as the third-string QB. He thought about giving up football to concentrate on baseball.

But, after a few conversations with Marr, he was sold.

Other players cite an immediate change in the culture and accountability within the program.

Marr and his staff have turned over roughly half the roster in their short time on the job. There are 12 freshmen and eight transfers that have been added to the mix.

They have brought in players that played at Oakdale, Thomas Johnson and schools outside of Frederick County.

"The first conversation I had with him, I knew it was going to be a completely different season this year," said junior wide receiver Grayson DiPietro, an All-MIAA C Conference performer last season who has been a standout so far in preseason practice.

Senior Zain Bokhari was persuaded to leave Oakdale to come play football at St. John's and figures prominently into their plans on the offensive line.

Sophomore Javen Travis came over from Thomas Johnson and will be one of the Vikings' primary running backs.

"We put him in the weight room the first day, and he was moving more weight than almost anyone on the roster," Marr said of the 5-foot-6, 185-pound Travis. "The kid is very talented."

Another sophomore, Robert "Tito" Hodgson, a receiver and defensive back, has caught Marr's eye in preseason practices after transferring from Einstein High School in Montgomery County.

Of course, the biggest attraction at St. John's Catholic Prep this season is the new stadium.

In the 21st season that the school has played football, the Vikings finally have a place to call home.

Players and coaches no longer have to bus across town to aging McCurdy Field. They simply have to step outside the back door of their school to attend practices and games now on a pristine playing surface.

"It's a huge deal," DiPietro said. "It's a whole different feel."

Next Friday, the Vikings will host Winters Mill in the first football game played at their new stadium.

They hope it will kick off an exciting new era of St. John's Catholic Prep football.

"They have played football here for 20 years," Marr said. "But we have our own spin on it. It's the Fighting Vikings football program now, and it's our first year of Fighting Vikings football."

Fact box

League: MIAA C Conference. Coach and record with team: Nate Marr, first season. 2021 record: 3-7. Returning starters: 5 offense, 5 defense.

2021 review: After dropping their first three games of the season, the Vikings earned their first win of the season over the Revolution, a Christian school based in Jarrettsville in Harford County, 48-8. In that game, the Vikings matched a single-season school record with five touchdown passes, with sophomore Grayson DiPietro pulling in four of them. The Vikings then accepted a forfeit victory over Paul Public Charter International before earning their final win of the season three weeks later on Oct. 22 against Severn School, 31-6.

Follow Greg Swatek on Twitter: @greg_swatek