Saint Francis High School (La Cañada Flintridge)
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| St. Francis High School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| La Cañada-Flintridge, California, USA | |
| Information | |
| President | Fr. Matthew Elshoff, OFM Cap. |
| Principal | Thomas Moran |
| Enrollment |
670 (as of Fall 06) |
| Type | Private secondary (Fransican Capuchin) |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Motto | A Catholic Tradition of Enriching the Mind and Heart |
| Mascot | Golden Knights |
| Patron saint(s) | Francis of Assisi |
| Color(s) | Brown and Gold |
| Established | 1946 |
| Homepage | sfhs.net |
Saint Francis High School is an all-boys Catholic preparatory high school in La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA. Founded in 1946 on the lands bought from a golf club, it is owned and directed by the Capuchin Friars of the Western American Province of Our Lady of Angels. Its unofficial motto, "A Catholic Tradition of Enriching the Mind and Heart", serves as the basis for the curriculum. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Saint Francis' strong sports are soccer and American football.
Contents |
[edit] Athletics
Within a seven year span in the 1990s into the 2000s, the Varsity Soccer Team captured three California Interscholastic Federation ("CIF") championships. Most programs reach the CIF playoffs every year with exceptional showings in the last 10 years by the football, soccer, cross country, baseball and track & field teams. A FieldTurf and all-weather track has been installed inside the Friedman Field complex, with a gymnasium renovation, Field House, home-side bleacher and patio renovation. The Golden Knights compete in nine sports within the Mission League, which is part of the CIF Southern Section. At the Varsity and Junior Varsity levels, football, cross country, basketball, soccer, tennis, track, volleyball and baseball are available to students. Golf is also a Varsity sport. Football, basketball, track, and volleyball are also available on the Freshmen/Sophomore level.
[edit] Soccer
Varsity soccer began the 2005 season ranked seventh in the nation and lived up to that ranking early in the year, winning the Admiral National Tournament in Florida. Their dominating run in the tournament included victories over a handful of nationally ranked teams, including Florida's top two soccer programs. In the last eight years coach Glen Appels has lead the team to 3 CIF Championships in three divisions. After originally playing in Division V the Golden Knights have now been moved up to Division I despite still only enrolling fewer than 700 students. St. Francis is one of the smallest schools in both CIF sections to have at least one Division I team. In 2008 the team was coached to victory by Glen Appels winning Mission League Title over Crespi. Unfortunately the team lost in the second round of playoffs to Newberry Park.
[edit] Football
After taking the Golden Knights to the CIF Playoffs for the fourth straight year, head coach Jim Bonds’ .638 winning percentage continues among the best since the school first took to the gridiron in 1949.
St. Francis’ first victory was in the final game of that 1949 season, a 40-6 trouncing of Notre Dame and, four years later, coach Jack Friedman arrived, who immediately moved St. Francis into the Parochial League.
In 1960, QB Tony Petek (1961) outdueled future Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte, the win over Mater Dei cementing the Golden Knights’ first league championship.
Other early highlights included:
- A 29-game winning streak and two consecutive CIF championships (1963-64),
- A 13-0 mark, Santa Fe League title and CIF AAA championship in 1964. The team paced by CIF MVP tailback Terry Newlin (’65), is called by many the school’s best ever,
- Four Del Rey league titles, including three straight, in the 1970s
The 1980s featured an upset of Loyola and another Del Rey championship.
The 1990s saw a rebuilding program, highlighted by the 1993 hiring of Bill Redell, who led the Golden Knights to its first playoff win in 13 years (1996), its first league title since 1982 and to the 1999 semifinals, losing to eventual champion Hart.
Past Golden Knight coaches include: Jim Glenn (1949-50), John Pacheco (1951-52), Friedman (1953-65, 68-78), Jim Yang (1966-67), Brian Fogarty (1978-82), Terry Terrazone (1983-88), Bill Garrison (1989-90), Andy Boynton (1991-92), Bill Redell (1993-99) and Bonds.
[edit] Baseball
Coming off a 12-13 record in 2005, the Golden Knights had an excellent 2006 season, with a 25-5 record including two wins over rival Loyola Cubs, champions of the Atascadero Easter Tournament and eventual CIF champions, where they had two come from behind wins. The Knights made the playoffs and won the first three playoff games and advanced to the semifinals to face West High School (Torrance). The Golden Knights won in the ninth inning on a walk-off home, which sent the Golden Knights to the CIF Div II Finals at Angel Stadium of Anaheim for the first time in school history. Although the Golden Knights lost, the 2006 season will never be forgotten.
[edit] Cross Country
With a powerhouse such as Loyola High School in the Mission League, St. Francis has consistently qualified for the CIF Southern Section meet each year. In the early 1990s, the program achieved its greatest success, including being CIF Division II Runners-Up in 1995, a team that went on to compete as a team at CIF State Finals of the first and only time in school history.
[edit] Swimming
While the program is no longer active at St. Francis, it was one of the most successful in St. Francis' history during its relatively short lifespan. In a 15 year span from the early 1980s to late 1990s, St. Francis swimmers racked up more All-American awards than all other sports in the school's history combined.
[edit] Golf
With a fairly young team this season, St. Francis golf finished the 2007 season by placing fifth in the CIF team divisionals.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jason Hirsh (2000), Starting Pitcher for the Colorado Rockies
- Michael Jenkins (2001), Guard for Northwestern University
- Mark Loretta (1989), second basemen of the Houston Astros
- Lloyd Monserratt, California political & community leader
- J. T. Murphy, (2001), Writer, essay for the theatrical production of 13 (musical)
- Errol Simonitsch, (2000) Pitcher on the Minnesota Twins Double-A team, New Britain Rock Cats
- Peter Vagenas (1996), of the Los Angeles Galaxy and United States Olympic soccer team
- Fernando Valenzuela Jr. (2000), First Baseman in the Chicago White Sox Class A team, Kannapolis Intimidators
- Carl Verheyen (1972), Premier LA session guitarist, Supertramp lead guitarist, founding member of the Carl Verheyen Band
- Matt Young (1976), Baseball UCLA (1980) Seattle Mariners (83-86)Los Angeles Dodgers (87) Oakland Athletics(88-89) Boston Red Sox (90-93)
- Gregg Zaun (1989), catcher of the Toronto Blue Jays
