Saint Francis Catholic Academy ready to make another run

When Tim Place took over as head coach of the Saint Francis Catholic Academy football program last May, he called it a “broken program.”

The Wolves were just 3-45 in their previous 48 games prior to his arrival.

They moved down to 8-man football, but the 2025 season began slowly after the Wolves forfeited two early games when three upperclassmen left the program.

A 62-0 win against Cornerstone Academy helped spark a run all the way to the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA) 8-man 1A championship game.

They lost at All Saints’ Academy (Winter Haven), 36-22, but the Wolves (6-7) finished with twice as many wins as those previous five years combined.

“As they say, coaches coach and players play, so it’s a direct reflection of the young people buying in, doing what was necessary to be successful,” Place said. “I think as coaches, it’s our responsibility, our calling, to provide them the opportunities. It’s on them to take advantage of it, and they took advantage of it.”

Place told his team that “you win games Monday through Thursday” and his team bought in.

Expectations are high as several players who were a part of that milestone season are back, including the Long family.

It all starts with the two cousins, Jake and Gabe Long.

“Gabe and Jake are everything that this place is about,” Place said. “Great kids, great students. They work hard. They’ve made themselves better, and I’m excited to see them compete this year.”

Quarterback Jake Long (6’3, 205) returns for his senior season after throwing for 725 yards, rushing for 1,515, and combining for 32 touchdowns as a junior.

“It’s frustrating because that kid’s pretty good and we had no traffic here in the spring for spring evaluation period,” Place said. “He’s a good football player… he’s a leader. He’s a 4.1 (GPA) in the classroom. He can run it. He can spin it. He’s just going to get better.”

Jake Long rushed for 198 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries in the championship game and threw for 77 yards and a score.

“I think what made me do well (last year) is our team,” said Jake Long, who has been playing at Saint Francis since his freshman season. “I think we’ve all grown. We’ve gotten bigger. I think we all understand each other, understand our strengths and weaknesses.”

He also attributed the success to his offensive line.

“I think they did really well,” he said. “We have a couple of guys on the O-line last year who were playing football for the first time ever…I think we all really clicked as a team. All the pieces of the puzzle kind of came together.”

Jake’s brother, Carson, will be a sophomore and is expected to play all over the field.

As a freshman, he rushed for 863 yards on 89 carries (9.7 AVG) with 13 touchdowns, had eight catches for 210 yards and four touchdowns, and he led the team with 88 tackles.

“Carson’s special,” Place said. “I was fortunate to spend a year at DeLand in 2024. We had a kid there by the name of Taihj Moore, who probably has 20-25 scholarship and Power 4 offers. Carson’s just as good as he is. I know he’s a very good baseball player, but he’s elite football.”

Gabe Long (6’1, 175), who carries a 4.3 GPA, led the Wolves in receiving with 17 catches for 467 yards and six touchdowns. He also carried the ball 24 times for 213 yards (8.9 AVG) with three scores.

He was also third on the team with 57 tackles.

“He exceeded my expectations,” Place said. “I really didn’t know what to expect of him last year. He works hard. He didn’t miss a summer workout. If he wants to, he can play at the next level.”

A lot of the success that Gabe and Jake had was based on the chemistry they’ve developed over many years.

“It’s great, you know he always knows where I’m gonna be,” Gabe Long said. “We’ve been throwing the ball in the front yard for 10-plus years. Even Carson, we had one game he had to sub in at quarterback, and he hit me a couple of times. It’s just something you don’t see often, but it’s awesome.”

Gabe’s brother, Anders, will be a freshman.

“I love it,” Gabe Long said. “There’s nothing better than going out onto the field with your cousins and now my brother’s coming in this year.”

A total of seven starters return on both sides of the ball, including juniors Bryan Morris (OL/DL), Isaac Sherrouse (second with 73 tackles), and TE/OLB Andy Janelle, who had 50 tackles and a team-best 10 sacks and 17 tackles for a loss.

“And they experienced success,” Place said. “They know what it takes, so they understand what the process is. They understand if we’re going to be good, this is what we need to do, so I’m excited and curious to see what it’s going to look like.”