St. Mary’s Ryken (SMR) is proud to announce the hiring of Jerry Franks as head varsity football coach. Considered by some to be a local legend, Franks comes to SMR from Huntingtown High School (Calvert County) where he has been head football coach since the school opened in 2004.
“I am excited to be part of the Ryken family,” said Franks “and am looking forward to seeing our football team explode with success in the fall. Go Knights!”
Coaching for over 35 years, Franks has established a reputation for turning out successful programs, and for recognizing and maximizing potential in his players. In 2008, he was inducted into the Maryland High School Football Coaches Association’s State Football Hall of Fame.
Franks began his career at DeMatha Catholic High School and has coached locally, in addition to Huntingtown, at Northern High School (Calvert County) and Calvert High School. During his time at Northern, the team captured three conference and two regional titles, reaching the state semifinals three times. At Calvert, he led the team to a state championship. At Huntingtown, the team was in the playoffs the past three seasons and state finalists in 2009.
At the collegiate level, he served as quarterback and receiver coach at the U.S. Naval Academy and as offensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut.
In the fall of 2010, St. Mary’s Ryken opened a new athletic stadium with seating for almost 1,000, a six-lane track, a press box and a state-of-the-art artificial turf field.
