St. Frances' football team will play Paramus Catholic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor over Labor Day weekend, St. Frances coach Henry Russell confirmed Wednesday.
The Panthers will kick off against the New Jersey power Friday night, Sept. 2, in the Big House, where the Wolverines will play Hawaii in their season opener the next day. Russell said plans are to have the Panthers stay to watch the college game.
News of the game slipped out Monday when Panthers senior Myles Wright mentioned it in an interview with Eric Rutter of Today's U during Michigan's satellite camp at Patterson Park. Rutter was the first to report it on Tuesday.
For Russell and the other coaches who moved from Gilman to St. Frances earlier this year, after coach Biff Poggi left the Greyhounds, playing top out-of-state competition is nothing new.
"We've always tried to play one game at a big college stadium for the kids just to have that experience," Russell said. "The kids love it and it's pretty cool. Last year, [Gilman was] able to play at West Virgnia and had a great time playing out there and traveling. The kids had a lot of fun.
"This year Michigan reached out to us and one of their coaches (Chris Partridge) used to be at Paramus Catholic, so I think that's where the connection kind of started. He knew about [Gilman] playing at West Virginia last year and just saw that it was a great opportunity to have some East Coast teams come play at the Big House and have that experience. Obviously it's good for them for recruiting and it's great for all the kids that get to play in the Big House, one of the most historic stadiums in college football."
A head coach has not been named at St. Frances. Poggi, who left Gilman in January after coaching the Greyhounds for 19 season, has not announced whether he will take a job on Michigan's coaching staff or be the head coach at St. Frances.
Russell, who was Gilman's associate head coach, and most of the rest of Poggi's staff -- including defensive coordinator Stan White, offensive coordinator Chris Baucia and former DeMatha coach Bill McGregor, who has been at Gilman for several years -- moved to St. Frances earlier this year. Panthers coach Messay Hailemariam will remain part of the staff.
At the satellite camp Monday at Patterson Park, Poggi announced himself as "Biff Poggi from St. Frances." His decision is expected soon. Even if he goes to Michigan -- where his youngest son Henry is a senior fullback -- he is expected to eventually return to take over at St. Frances.
After losing to Paramus by a combined 63-0 the previous two years, Gilman defeated the Paladins, 41-17, last fall in New Jersey, before going undefeated through the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and finishing No. 1 in The Baltimore Sun, No. 1 in the state media poll and No. 13 in USA Today's Super 25.
The Panthers, who have played a tough schedule as well -- including Imhotep Charter, Pa., and Friendship Collegiate last season -- finished 1-9 without an A Conference win last fall.
The new coaching staff hopes to build the kind of success it had at Gilman beginning this fall at St. Frances. Russell conceded that it's going to take a lot of work, but said there's talent in the young group returning for the Panthers, so the coaches aren't reluctant to start with a tough opponent.
He declined to discuss any new players.
"There's just a lot of buzz around St. Frances right now. A lot of great things are happening," Russell said. The Michigan trip is "just an opportunity to give a lot of kids that are going to be a part of St. Frances a special thing to remember. Hopefully, we'll do it every year. This is the start of a new way of doing things down there."
"Even at Gilman early on, you challenge yourself and you want to see where you stand, so it's kind of the same thing," Russell continued. "We've got some talented kids and they want to know where they stand nationally, what it takes to compete at that level. It'll be a learning experience. It's a measuring stick, something to get better on and the MIAA's such a tough league you almost have to do things like this to make sure that you're ready to go once you hit league play."
Russell said, in addition to their MIAA A Conference schedule, the Panthers will play Avalon, South Pointe from South Carolina, Bishop Sullivan from Virginia Beach and Silver Oak Academy before finishing the season on the road at IMG Academy in Florida. They plan to play two games at Morgan State, one at Towson University and the rest of their home games at Patterson Park.