HBO to Air ‘Prayer for a Perfect Season’ on October 25th

"Prayer for a Perfect Season" is a story that if you live near northern New Jersey and have any inkling about boys' high school basketball, you probably have heard of Jersey City's championship team from St. Anthony's High School, a team without their own gymnasium and one legendary coach named Bob Hurley.

Traveling a few miles south on the Pulaski Skyway and Routes 1 & 9 to Elizabeth, New Jersey and you will find St. Patrick's High School. These two schools are inner-city Catholic high schools and until the end of the 2011 season, both had coaches with winning records.

Kevin Boyle was the coach of St. Pat's who left to coach at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He brings with him a formidable record; among them are over two decades of high school basketball success. He has coached his teams to 23 titles and personally received awards of recognition that include the 2011 Naismith Coach of the Year, the 2009 ESPN National Coach of the Year, and the 2007 USA Today National Coach of the Year. Coach Boyle is one of only four coaches in high school basketball history to win the National Coach of the Year honor three times and has a career record of 551 wins and 129 losses.

Bob Hurley, the coach of St. Anthony High School's Friars in downtown Jersey City has amassed 26 state championships and more than 1000 wins in 39 years and only 10th coach in high school history amass such a record. He has had five of his teams go undefeated. On April 5, 2010, he was announced as the only coach to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame that year and only the third high-school coach in history to hold this honor. Among his greatest accomplishments are his two sons, Bobby and Danny. Bobby was an All-American point guard who led Duke to two championships and then went on to the NBA. Danny is now the coach of Wagner College and prior to that, coached at Newark, St. Benedict's Preparatory School; another inner-city New Jersey school to receive nationwide acclaim.

Follow the St. Patrick Celtics and their personal struggle with life in the mean streets while striving for perfection as their hopes and dreams for a better life after high school is hinging on the basketball court. Join the real-life journey of kids destined for greatness and how they deal with life's triumphs and disappointments both on and off the court.