St. Francis High School (Traverse City, Michigan)

St. Francis High School
Address
123 East Eleventh Street Traverse City, Michigan 49684 United States
Coordinates	44°45′22″N 85°37′22″W / 44.75611°N 85.62278°W / 44.75611; -85.62278Coordinates: 44°45′22″N 85°37′22″W / 44.75611°N 85.62278°W / 44.75611; -85.62278
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic, Dominican Sisters
Established	1877
Founder	Michael Weber
Superintendent	Michael R. Buell
Principal	Erick Chittle
Grades	9–12
Color(s)	Navy and Gold
Fight song	Notre Dame Victory March
Athletics conference	Lake Michigan Conference
Nickname	Gladiators
Website	www.gtacs.org/sf_home.php

St. Francis High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Traverse City, Michigan. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord.

Background

St. Francis High School located in Traverse City, Michigan, and is part of the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools. This parochial school system traces its roots back to 1969 when it was founded by the Dominican Sisters.^[1]

Traverse City St. Francis (TCSF) is three-time recipient of Top 50 Catholic high school honors, having earned distinction among the approximately 1,300 Catholic high schools in the United States.

Athletics

Football

The St. Francis Football team has won state titles in 1992, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.^[2] Other trips to the State Finals include 1983, 1998, 2007, and 2008.^[2] Since the playoff system was established in Michigan, TCSF has qualified^[2] for the playoffs 23 times. This includes the current streak of 19 years, which is an MHSAA record. The Gladiators have an all-time winning percentage of .757 (418-133-4).^[2] Their regular season winning percentage is .763 (375-115-4)^[2] and their playoff winning percentage is .705 (43-18).^[2] The Gladiators are members of the Lake Michigan Conference, which they have won^[2] for 6 consecutive seasons. During this streak they have not lost^[2] a single conference game. Other members of the Lake Michigan Conference include: Boyne City Ramblers, Charlevoix Red Raiders, East Jordan Red Devils, Elk Rapids Elks, Grayling Vikings, Harbor Springs Rams, and Kalkaska Blue Blazers. Other teams that St. Francis considers its rivals are the Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders, the Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central Panthers, and the Kingsley Stags. Although the Benzie Central Huskies have been considered a rival of St. Francis, The record between the teams stands at 36-0 for St. Francis. St. Francis's top five most played opponents are the Manistee Chippewas (33 games), Benzonia Benzie Central Huskies (32 games), Boyne City Ramblers (29 games), Kalkaska Blue Blazers (28 games), and the St. Ignace LaSalle Saints (28 games).^[2] Many Gladiators have gone on to play football at the collegiate level. The most recent Division I recruit is ILB Max Bullough (6'3 225) be a member of the Michigan State Spartans.^[3] Max now plays for the Houston Texans. Another notable football player to graduate from St. Francis is Fullback Joe Kerridge. Joe walked on to the 2011 University of Michigan Wolverines, quickly earning a full ride scholarship. In 2015 Kerridge was named Team Captain and is currently a "Player to watch" in the upcoming NFL draft.

Notable alumni

• Angus MacLellan — professional rugby player with the United States national rugby union team

Notes and references