St. Frances Academy has been one of the country’s best high school football teams the past couple of seasons. The Panthers believe this season’s group is the best in the country, and they’ve put their luggage on it. Literally.

The East Baltimore private school started the season with games in five states, spanning nearly 12,000 miles round-trip and three time zones. Friday evening, the area’s top-ranked Panthers (5-0) play their first and only local contest at No. 14 Arundel.

“We’ve been accustomed to [traveling] for the last few years but this was a little more daunting because we had to do it the first five weeks and didn’t have any breaks,” said St. Frances coach Messay Hailemariam.

The Panthers opened the season in Canton, Ohio (played Missouri’s East St. Louis), followed the next week with contest in the Dallas suburb of Fort Worth (Texas’ DeSoto). After a short break (12 days), St. Frances played at Florida Class 8A state champ Venice.

It was back “Down South,” the following week with a match against South Carolina champ Dutch Fork. Days later, the Panthers were back on an airplane for a nine-hour, nearly 5,000-mile one-way trip to Hawaii.

Playing in the Aloha State was an indelible experience. From the scenery, to adjusting to a six-hour time difference — players and coaches were more than appreciative of the opportunity despite the physical and mental challenges that came with it.

“The only issue I had, which is OK, is -- how do you go to Hawaii and feel like you’re not on vacation? I think I was the only one going crazy; everyone else was enjoying the beach and we were doing walk-throughs in the water. But how many times are you going to be back in Hawaii? Probably never.”

On the field, St. Frances needed a fourth quarter rally to defeat defending Hawaii Open Division state champ Kahuku, 22-15, in a game that kicked off at 1 a.m. East Coast time Oct. 1.

“The time adjustment was crazy,” said Panthers junior quarterback Michael Van Buren. “And then also, just experiencing Hawaii. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the team has never been to Hawaii before, so I believe that was a great experience for everyone.”

“The biggest thing, I can tell you, is it preps us. As coaches, it was a challenge. We gotta keep [the players] engaged, they’re traveling, they’re tired. We gotta find places to practice and walk through, so it was challenging. We gotta keep their academics going.”

Hailemariam said there was daily study hall, no matter where the Panthers played.

In the second season of his second term as coach, Hailemariam stressed being spiritually grounded, mentally tough and physical capability has largely contributed to the Panthers’ success this season.

“It was great to get around and see a lot of different places, and play different teams from around the country and luckily we came away with all five wins,” said Van Buren, whose team needed late fourth quarter rallies to win against East St. Louis and Kahuku. “Every week, Coach Messay talks to us about adversity. Whenever adversity hits, we just gotta know how to overcome it, and he stresses that to us every day.”

Likewise, defensive tackle Isaiah Neal said he feels much of the team’s success can be attributed to the hardship they have undergone.

“I think the biggest key to our success has really been our chemistry and our ability to stick together through adversity,” said Neal, a senior.

From having to travel a hour round trip for practice to not having a true home field or losing players to tragic circumstances - Aaron Wilson died of cancer in 2021 and Lamar Patterson died in a car accident earlier this year - St. Frances is accustomed to adversity.

“That’s what makes us who we are too – that grit and toughness. That’s why we don’t flinch. If something is happening to us, it’s just a daily thing. They (players) just learn how to overcome it, they don’t even think about it… We use that as a motivation. We have a chip on our shoulder.”

The Panthers’ first local game was scheduled for earlier this month against Canada’s Toronto Prep at Patterson Park, but was cancelled. Friday’s matchup with Arundel is a rarity for St. Frances, which has played one other area team - Franklin in 2021 - since becoming a national power after being a middle-of-the-road MIAA A Conference program.

St. Frances has played an independent schedule since 2017 after MIAA A schools refused to play the Panthers, citing safety and competitive imbalance concerns.

St. Frances, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today and MaxPreps, have a road game at Connecticut’s Thomas More and matches with Clarkson North from Canada and Florida private powerhouse IMG Academy at the University of Maryland, following tonight.

The Panthers hope a potential perfect season combined with its road victories lead to a mythical national title.

“For me, it’s been an amazing ride,” Hailemariam said. “It’s only the beginning.”