Messay Hailemariam didn't just say St. Frances Academy would play anybody. He made a graphic.
The Panthers' head coach posted a state-by-state hit list on Monday, naming close to 20 of the country's most decorated high school football programs and inviting all of them to Baltimore, or wherever, for a game. "SAINT FRANCES ACADEMY WOULD WELCOME AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY ALL OF YOU!" the graphic reads, followed by a straightforward pitch: "GREAT COMPETITION. GREAT ENVIRONMENTS. GREAT PROGRAMS." His caption left even less room for interpretation: "We want all the smoke, ain't no duckin'. Call me!!"
The list itself reads like a national powers bracket. California alone gets five entries — Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran, Santa Margarita, and Sierra Canyon. Nevada's Bishop Gorman is in. So are Texas juggernauts Duncanville and DeSoto, Georgia powers Buford, Carrollton, and Grayson, Florida programs St. Thomas Aquinas, Miami Central, Venice, and Miami Northwestern, New Jersey's Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco, and St. Joseph Regional, Pennsylvania's St. Joseph's Prep and Imhotep Charter, and a trio of D.C.-area staples in DeMatha Catholic, St. John's College, and Good Counsel. The post closes with the kind of line that was built to be a T-shirt: "IRON SHARPENS IRON."
The post had racked up 1,700 likes and more than 200 comments within about six hours, along with over 230 reposts. Former Baltimore Ravens receiver and Maryland native Torrey Smith weighed in with a comment that summed up the reaction as well as anything: "There is no confusion here."
The bravado isn't new, even if the graphic is. St. Frances has spent years building a reputation on exactly this kind of scheduling — the Panthers have flown to Utah, Texas, Florida, and beyond chasing marquee opponents, in part because Maryland stopped giving them much choice. Back in 2018, the MIAA's other schools collectively refused to keep playing St. Frances, citing player safety and an imbalanced talent level. The Panthers went independent and have been hunting for the toughest possible schedule ever since.
This time, there's a specific reason to be loud about it. St. Frances enters this season as the reigning Overtime Nationals champion after beating Corner Canyon 37-20 last December, and that event is already confirmed to return for a second edition in 2026. Defending a national title usually means playing opponents credible enough to make the defense mean something — and with a roster that reportedly includes 18 of Maryland's top 50 recruits in the 2026 class, St. Frances has more than enough talent to make good on the challenge.
The program's track record backs up the confidence.
Running back Blake Corum is entering his third season with the Los Angeles Rams, and defensive end Chris Braswell has started to carve out a real role for the Buccaneers since Tampa Bay took him in the second round in 2024. Offensive lineman Jaelyn Duncan spent two seasons with the Titans before landing with the DC Defenders of the UFL.
Closer to home, wide receiver Elijah Sarratt — who spent his final two high school seasons at St. Frances before a college career that took him to three different programs — is currently a rookie in Ravens training camp, fighting for a roster spot just up the road from where his high school career started.
On the college side, five-star defensive back Jireh Edwards is now at Alabama and five-star defensive end Zion Elee signed with Maryland — both members of the same 2025 championship defense that made this whole graphic plausible in the first place.
Whether any of the 19 programs named actually pick up the phone is a different question entirely.