The powerhouse Saint Frances football team is finally getting a field

Saint Frances Academy boasts one of the best high school football programs in the country. Even without a home field.

Student athletes at the historic Catholic school in East Baltimore have zipped across the city to practice in Cherry Hill, Patterson Park, Curtis Bay, Park Heights — whatever field they can find. As a result, students spend precious practice time commuting.

That’s changing soon.

On Tuesday, Saint Frances hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking for Cordish Field, directly across the street from the school in Johnston Square.

The Saint Frances Panthers have developed a reputation for excellence despite the lack of resources. In December, the team won the Overtime Nationals, a high school football national championship game.

“If you thought they were a problem when they didn’t have a practice field, they’re gonna really be a problem once they get a practice field,” said Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones, who represents the area, at Tuesday’s event.

Baltimore-based developer David Cordish, one of the sponsors of the roughly $1.5 million project, said the 70,000-square-foot natural grass field with bleachers could be completed by the end of the year and should be usable by the spring.

The idea of adding a field for the nearly 200-year-old Catholic institution has spanned years, city administrations and coaches.

That includes Biff Poggi, the former Gilman coach whose private wealth and access to donors helped turn Saint Frances into a national program. He worked with Saint Frances football coach Messay Hailemariam from 2017 to 2020 before leaving to join the coaching staff at Michigan.

Hailemariam, who moved to Baltimore because his then-3-year-old daughter was receiving cancer treatment at Johns Hopkins, has been with the program since 2011. It took some convincing from the Oblate Sisters of Providence, but the former Terps walk-on saw opportunity at the school.

When he walked out on his first day 15 years ago, Hailemariam looked across the street at the row of abandoned houses looming over the school. What if this were the field? he thought.

His dream was deferred, but his teams persevered. Gradually they improved their record, won key games and developed into Maryland’s top high school football team. Player after player committed to Division I colleges and, ultimately, made the NFL.

But there were obstacles, including finding a place to practice and getting everyone there.

The school has two squads, a regional team and a national team. The field will have enough space for all the practices and the regional team’s home games. The national players, who tend to draw larger crowds, will continue holding home games elsewhere.

The Panthers have used all sorts of transportation to get to practices. They’ve taken two 15-passenger vans, sometimes making multiple trips. Some kids use rideshare apps. Sometimes kids hop on electric scooters, which Hailemariam said terrifies the coaching staff.

Hailemariam said fundraising also keeps him up at night. He’s tasked with helping to raise around $1.2 million each year to field the team.

With scarcer funds than at other prep schools, Saint Frances has been forced to get creative.

While public fields were inaccessible during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saint Frances team used the lawn at the Cordish family’s home to practice.

The casino and sports entertainment developer said he became acquainted with the program through mutual friends and, almost 20 years ago, helped construct dormitories for some of the students in need of safe housing.

The Banner leases its Baltimore office from the Cordish Cos.

The new Cordish Field will serve as both the school’s home field and as a public amenity for the Johnston Square community, which has undergone a wave of changes tied to Baltimore’s reinvestment in reducing vacant houses.

Student-athletes, decked out in uniforms and school gear, took turns cheering and clapping Tuesday for the new field and the philanthropists supporting them. (Construction actually got started about six weeks before the ceremonial groundbreaking.)

Ranked No. 40 nationally this year — a rare downturn of fortunes for the 6-2 Panthers — the team has battled injuries, including to their quarterback, Justin Merriman, and what their coach described as a sense of complacency.

During practice last month at Reedbird Park in Cherry Hill, Hailemariam encouraged the players to “lock in.”

The coaches were juggling: A young wide receiver made a one-handed catch. An injured player needed an IV drip. A student needed encouragement about his grades.

Field or no field, Hailemariam said these kids will find a way. They’ve never made excuses.

He asked one student, a transfer from Brooklyn, why he made the move to East Baltimore.

Easy, the athlete replied. “To be great.”