Head south along Radio Drive in Woodbury, then circle left at the roundabout at Bailey Road. The East Ridge High School/Bielenberg Sports Complex comes into view quickly, often accompanied by a single word:

Wow.

On 320 acres in south Woodbury, football, baseball and soccer fields — 40 in all — find room to stretch out. Six-year-old East Ridge and its facilities take up 80 of those acres in the southeast quadrant, still boasting that new-school smell. The rest is community property, with a new, 90,000-square-foot field house big enough to enclose a regulation-size football field.

The sight is so impressive that one doesn’t question why athletes would want to call this home. Indeed, the more likely question is: Why wouldn’t they?

“This is a great place to play,” senior cornerback Jack Dwyer said. “I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.”

Dwyer’s words carry added weight because he spent his freshman year at Hill-Murray before coming back to play at home. In fact, East Ridge’s advantages are a big reason the program has risen rapidly into the exclusive club that is Class 6A’s elite teams.

East Ridge made the jump from potential to established power in 2013, being ranked among the top five in the state in Class 6A for most of the season. It boasted the one of the most heralded offensive line recruits in the nation in center J.C. Hassenauer, who accepted an athletic scholarship to Alabama.

“I love playing in my home city,” said quarterback Seth Green, one of the nation’s top junior quarterbacks.

East Ridge’s potency is a testament to the combined commitment of coach Mike Pendino and his staff and the athletic department to develop a program than can compete at the highest level.

“The facilities are great, but it’s not just the facilities,” Pendino said. “It’s the administration and the community. They are passionate about being successful. Our ERAA [East Ridge Athletic Association] program is going strong, and they do an outstanding job.”

The 2014 squad is busting at the seams with top-end talent. Green counts Oregon and Texas among his many suitors. Junior defensive lineman JoJo Garcia and junior wide receiver Kjetil Cline both have already received multiple Division I offers.

Despite the rosy outlook, Pendino acknowledged that living up to potential is one thing, reaching it another. East Ridge’s 2013 season ended with a resounding thud in a shocking 38-3 loss to Eastview in the section playoffs.

“We have expectations to be the best, but now we have to go prove it on the field,” he said. “If you want to be the best, you have to play the best and beat the best.”

Jim Paulsen