sure, their team sucked for a lot of those years including the last years of Orsini. They got into the infant NCL so they wouldn’t have to schedule publics.
"Got in the NCL so they wouldn't have to schedule publics"? Since 1995 (original post said last 25 years) through the time they joined the NCL (2005), Hoban has scheduled (regular season, of course) the following number of public schools each season 5 (95), 3 (96), 3 (97), 3 (98), 5 (99), 5 (00), 4 (01), 5 (02), 3 (03) and 2 (04). That's about 4 per season which I'd guess is normal for a private school that does not play in a league. Most games against public schools are relegated to the first three or four weeks of the season before the public school squads enter league play. I don't believe they entered a league "so they wouldn't have to schedule publics", as you note, since there is really no evidence to back up such a statement. Hoban has always played a mix of publics and privates and continued to do so, or at least try to, through 2015 as they played anywhere from 2-4 public schools up until the 2016 season when they opened with McKinley, the lone public on the slate.
You aso state "their team sucked for a lot of those years..". From 1994-2005 (first year in the NCL), Hoban had two sub-500 seasons (1994, '95), went 5-5 once ('97) and went to the playoffs from 1998-2005 through their entrance into the NCL. They made the playoffs again in '08 and '09, reaching the state semi-finals (second time during the stretch discussed) in the latter.
Very true, they struggled in 10, 11 and 12 (4-6, 1-9 and 2-8) before there was a coaching change, but to say they "sucked a lot of those years" is a stretch.