St. Francis, down to 14 healthy players, forced to end season

Just two years ago, a St. Francis football player was running free toward the end zone late in a state semifinal, about to tie the game. A defender rallied to chase the player down and wrestle the ball away inside the 10-yard line.

Tortured by four turnovers, St. Francis’ talented young team lost 24-20 to heavily favored Prince Avenue Christian, which days later won the Class A Division I championship in a relative blowout.

St. Francis was that close. Today, St. Francis football could not be further away.

First-year coach Ryan Livezey announced Tuesday that his team cannot play its regular-season finale Friday against Mount Bethel Christian. He has only 14 healthy players. The Knights will finish the season 0-10 with four forfeits.

About 20 prominent players from that Cinderella 2022 team - five who are now committed to major-college football programs - transferred out of the north Fulton private school of about 225 students within months of the Prince Avenue game.

The current St. Francis players, mostly sophomores and freshmen, showed their mettle last week, returning to the field after three weeks of forfeits to play one more time. The Knights lost to Mount Pisgah Christian 43-6. It was Mount Pisgah’s first victory this season. Three St. Francis players suffered concussions, and two came out with sprained ankles, Livezey said.

“There are not a lot of feel-good moments when you lose 43-6, but the fact that we went out and did play, I was proud of that,” he said. “These kids kept trying to get better, and we wanted to give them once more chance to play.”

It’s all that St. Francis can muster. The Knights were scheduled to play a region crossover game Friday but can’t.

“As most of you know, we’ve struggled with numbers throughout the season,” Livezey wrote in an e-mail to Region 5-A Division I coaches Tuesday. “We had hoped to be able to finish the season against Mount Pisgah and the crossover game, but unfortunately, we lost five more players in the game [against Mount Pisgah]. That said, we’ve made the decision to end our season. We let Mt. Bethel know on Sunday and informed the GHSA yesterday. As you all can imagine, it’s been a frustrating season.”

It’s old news now, but for the record, those former St. Francis players now destined for big-time college football include Ty Redmond (committed to Tennessee), Caleb Bell (Arkansas) and Brayden Jacobs (Clemson), who play for No. 1 Milton of Class 5A; Nick Brooks (Texas) of Grayson; and JaQuinton Madison (Arkansas) of Alpharetta. Several others from the 2022 St. Francis team are also Division I prospects but playing elsewhere.

Livezey was not St. Francis’ coach then, but he says the exodus occurred when school administration drew the line against parents wanting more influence on the team.

Until that 2022 season, St. Francis had won only one playoff game since launching the program in 2010. Football always has been a struggle.

A 15-year Georgia head coach, Livezey was hired in May to get the program on its feet. He admits he might’ve underestimated the challenge. He started with a roster of 21.

“It’s definitely a situation I didn’t expect and haven’t experienced before,” Livezey said. “But we’ve got good kids here. They worked so hard. My biggest frustration is for them. They showed up day in, day out. My job as a coach was still to help them get better.”

St. Francis is competing for the same state championship as teams such as Savannah Christian, which has five major Division I players, including five-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin.

“Our offensive line is sophomore, sophomore, sophomore, sophomore and freshman,” Livezey said. “They lined up against Wesleyan, who had one defensive end going to Army, the other to Georgia Tech. After three plays it became evident that we were going to have trouble blocking those guys. Will it pay off down the road? Hopefully. In the moment, it’s hard. There’s no way we should be playing for the same championship as some of those other schools.”

St. Francis’ challenge is one that many smaller private schools face. About 12 of them, most recently Athens Christian, have left the GHSA for the Georgia Independent School Association in the past three years, in part to be more competitive in football. Many have had moments of success, only to fall back quickly, as St. Francis did.

Livezey believes he can rebuild St. Francis, but it will take time. He notes that St. Francis’ athletic program is strong overall.

The Knights’ girls basketball teams have won five state titles, including the past two in Class A Division I. The boys basketball teams have four state titles. Current NBA player Malik Beasley and former NBA player Kobi Simmons played on two of them. Wrestlers and tennis teams have won state championships here, and volleyball teams have made state final fours.

Football, requiring more players, is tougher. Livezey says a healthy roster for a school this size is 35 or more.

“I’m never going to promise we’ll have a dominant football program,” Livezey said. “The numbers don’t allow that if you’re trying to do it the right way. The kids we’ve got are willing to work. That’s something to start with. They didn’t quit when things got stacked against them. We’ve got to do a better job of recruiting our hallways. We’ve got to develop our middle school program. We want to get the right type of families that understand that winning is great, it’s why we keep records, but playing football is more than wins and losses. The kids who stuck with it are more confident. Maybe it didn’t show up in wins, but they got better.”