BRONX, N.Y. - Meet the Lehman High School football team. Over the years, many of its star players have moved on from the Bronx school to gridiron glory in college.

One of them, Doug Marrone, made it to the NFL and is now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

It takes a lot to make it as a football player, but the challenge is even greater coming from Lehman. 

"We went undefeated for three years. We brought a chip home so I feel we do deserve to have a field," says Ismael Collazo, a Lehman junior.

Collazo plays safety for the Lehman Lions. He'll graduate without ever having played a home game at his school. The reason? Their football field is only 80 yards long — 20 short of regulation size — forcing the the Lions to travel to other schools for practices and all games.

"During the season we played at a new field in Long Island, brand new. The principal was there, everybody was there. It’s aggravating that we can’t have that same experience," Collazo says.

In 2011, the city's School Construction Authority spent close to $5 million renovating Lehman's multipurpose athletic complex --  installing lights, new bleachers and artificial turf.

Today, the field looks ready for prime time - except its length.

Now parents are clamoring for the city to finally make things right. Nearly 3,000 of them have signed a petition demanding action. For starters, they suggest extending the field to a lot at one end that's now being used as a driveway and to store trash.

"It’s not going to take another $5 million. It’s a just a tweak here and there. We have the space for it. There’s plenty of space for the field to finally get fixed. There should be no more excuses," says Maria Ortiz, president of Friends and Family of Lehman Football.

But the city Education Department will not commit to adding those final 20 yards.

The department issued a terse statement saying only, "We want students to have access to high quality, regulation athletic facilities, and we’ll continue to work with the School Construction Authority regarding access to athletic facilities for students across the city."

"It’s demoralizing that we don’t have our own field. We don’t have our fans directly coming directly from school to watch us. What if they don’t have money to get on a bus?” says Darius DeJesus, a defensive lineman for Lehman.

The Lehman Lions start a new season in September. For now, it appears that once again, there will be no home games on the schedule.