JOSH HUGHES The Marietta Times Parkersburg Catholic senior Aidan Stotts (front row, center) signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday to play rugby at Wheeling Jesuit University.

PARKERSBURG — When Parkersburg Catholic’s Aidan Stotts took a trip to the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University, he was under the impression he would be signing with the football team. The two-sport athlete was familiar with the ebbs and flows of being on coach Rob Strcula’s basketball team and coach Lance Binegar’s football team, and he was set on continuing his football aspirations at the collegiate level.

However, Stotts also met with the school’s rugby coaches. They presented him with the opportunity to play rugby, and he made his decision official inside Parkersburg Catholic’s gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon. Stotts signed on to play for the Cardinals’ Division I rugby team, where he will most likely be used as a back. Stotts said he would be ready for the switch to rugby and all the challenges ahead.

“Well, rugby doesn’t have pads like there are in football,” Stotts said. “There’s a lot that’s similar about it, but there’s a lot that’s different about it, too. I met with their rugby coach (third-year coach Jake Fautley), sent him my film and he was interested in me.”

Following that chain of events, Stotts practiced with the team and made up his mind in the process. The then-unlikely pairing of Stotts and collegiate rugby was made possible with that very connection, and it helped mark the end of his time as a Parkersburg Catholic Crusader. Binegar was alongside Stotts’s family during the signing, and he had nothing but great things to say about the Catholic standout.

“He was a tough kid when he played football,” Binegar said.

“From what I know about rugby, it’s a very physical sport, and he’s a very tough kid. I wish him nothing but the best, and hopefully he sticks around in the weight room here with us and helps my younger kids get better and that it improves him in college.”

With his family at his side, Stotts signed on the dotted line. His signature carries considerably more weight than it did before his visit to Wheeling Jesuit, and he leaves behind a legacy of excellence at Parkersburg Catholic. When asked about Stotts’s legacy as a Crusader, Binegar spoke glowingly of his former player.

“I believe it will be his hard nose and toughness of basically fighting through the pain,” Binegar said. “He did have some injuries that he never led on. I wish half of the kids had his toughness.”

Now, Stotts can bring that toughness to the Wheeling Jesuit rugby team, as he forges a new path in his academic and athletic journey.