The St. Francis football program has existed only since 2010. In 2013, the Knights raced to eight wins and followed that successful campaign with a first-round playoff appearance in 2014. The future appeared to be extremely bright for St. Francis, a budding program in Georgia Class A. Unfortunately, that progress stagnated just a year later.
Over the next four seasons, the Knights would have three head coaches. Frank Barden, the longtime Cartersville coach with a state championship under his belt, was hired in 2018 to revitalize the St. Francis program.
Unfortunately, that rise to excellence was disrupted by the graduation of a senior class that contributed to most of the Knights statistical production. Paired with the challenges of COVID, 2020 quickly became disastrous. The Knights won only one game and lost the other eight by 27 points or more. Their only win came against winless Lumpkin County.
Despite the poor showing, optimism about the team’s young talent remained alive. The only major departure from that 2020 St. Francis football squad was Gianni Dorsey, the team’s leading rusher and tackler. In 2021, a junior- and sophomore-heavy Knights squad started the season 0-5, but rapidly righted the ship in region play, winning all five of their remaining games and securing the elusive playoff berth.
Quarterback Jaiden Jenkins rarely turned the ball over and four-star cornerback Branden Strozier headlined an improved defense. However, that defense could not hold against Athens Christian’s Johne’ss Davis, and the Knights fell by three points.
A four-win jump demonstrated the team’s ability to develop as players and teammates, but the Knights had yet to win a game against a GHSA program with a winning record. An opportunity came early in 2022 against Fellowship Christian, a perennial power. With nearly all starters on both sides of the ball having been on that one-win 2019 team, the Knights played inspired football and leaned on Jenkins’s four passing touchdowns to secure the improbable win.
Despite three losses in their next four games, the momentum built from the win over the Paladins fueled another ranked upset over Whitefield Academy, clinching the school’s first region title. More importantly, the players on the team developed both statistically and physically.
Jenkins, who threw for 2,000 yards over the past two seasons combined, passed for over 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns this season alone. Strozier committed to Clemson as a cornerback. DE Caleb Bell is drawing attention after racking up 15 TFLs and 13 sacks, and RB Kevin Mavin-Winchester has totaled over 1,500 scrimmage yards and 14 scores.
The Knights, currently ranked 14th in our 1A-3A composite Top-25, have continued their successful run through the Class 1A-DI playoffs with wins over Oglethorpe County, Trion, and ranked Bleckley County, all in blowout fashion. The future of St. Francis football is extremely bright, as nearly all offensive and defensive starters will return next season. The program that once struggled to win a single game is now just one win away from a state championship appearance.
