Their practice field is being renovated.

They don't have their own football stadium, and they are not members of a league.

And because work study is an integral part of the curriculum – it helps pay most of their tuition – the football players at Cristo Rey High School juggle work, classes and athletics.

"It's amazing how hard these kids work at playing football," said Cristo Rey athletic director and football coach Matt Costa. "When other kids are at football practice at 3:30 p.m., our kids are either at study hall or at work."

Cristo Rey, a Catholic school that opened three years ago at the site of the former St. Peter School in the south Sacramento neighborhood of Fruitridge Manor, offers college prep classes and work experience to 232 students from low-income families.

Students work five days a month at entry-level jobs, which helps pay most of their tuition. As part of the requirement, they must wear business attire to their jobs – and to school.

To accommodate those schedules – the school day is from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. – Costa and assistant head coach Steve Macias hold football practices at 5:30 p.m. at nearby Peter Burnett Elementary School, with an hour team study hall before.

Still, Costa's nearly doubled the number of players from last season, though there is no senior class yet.

"These kids love playing football," Costa said. "We believe football is huge in helping with student retention, and it's a good sport to build around in a neighborhood where there is a big gang presence."

Playing an independent schedule with 16 underclassmen, Cristo Rey went 1-6 in 2007.

This year the team has 30 players, although many are first-time football players still learning the basics.

Juniors Patrick Bakes and Gabe Flores offer contrasting stories as members of Cristo Rey's inaugural class.

Bakes, the team's leader at quarterback and defensive end, played flag football at All Hallows School and planned to follow the path of his father and uncles to Jesuit.

But when he was not accepted, Bakes decided to be part of the pioneering school that one of those uncles, Chris Bakes, helped start not far from Patrick's Tahoe Tallac home.

Patrick Bakes is a big playmaker, has easily adapted to school – a 3.6 grade-point average – and is learning a lot by working the past two years for River City Bank.

"How many 16-year-olds get a chance to work in a bank?" said Bakes, whose dream is to play football at Notre Dame. "Getting work experience like this while in school is going to be a big help later in life."

Flores had never played football before and wasn't completely sold on his family's decision to send him to Cristo Rey instead of Hiram Johnson. As a freshman, he disliked wearing a tie, the long school day and not being with his friends.

"I was a little bit angry then," Flores said. "I didn't talk to anybody."

But Costa saw a quiet determination in Flores, now the team's hard-hitting 5-foot-11, 150-pound linebacker and tight end who has blossomed. He likes school and says being part of a team has made him more "trusting in people."

A self-described tinkerer who also likes to draw, Flores plans to major in mechanical engineering in college.

He has worked three different jobs while at Cristo Rey, including office work for Cedar Valley Concrete Corp. in Rancho Cordova this semester.

What's the most important thing he is learning about the work world?

"That you have to ask questions … and you've got to smile even when you're not happy," Flores said.

The football team, which plays home games at San Juan High School in Citrus Heights, is off to a good start.

The Saints beat Millennium, a new school in Tracy, 26-0 Saturday night. Running from a veer offense, Bakes was 9-of-14 passing for 171 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Marcus Jones, perhaps Costa's best football player, had 326 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.

Among the teams on their nine-game schedule are Encina, new Antelope High and Bradshaw Christian.

"We may be a small school, but we have the same goals as coaches at the larger schools," said Costa, a 27-year-old history teacher at Cristo Rey who has coached at El Camino, Mira Loma and McClatchy.

"We want to win and be successful. But we also know that it's ultimately about family and team values, not about wins and losses."

Call The Bee's Bill Paterson, (916) 326-5506.