Preseason Preview: Victory Christian Lions
Head Coach Mark Sanders, coming off a 2015 campaign that led to a 7-2 regular season record and two playoff games for the Lions before the end of their season, has come back for this season with as much excitement and hope as was present at the end of last season. “Hopefully we can bring the same kind of intensity and the same kind of excitement we had last year. We have a good team coming back and hopefully we can come out and do better than we did last year.”
The offense once again centers on All-State quarterback Harrison Cheatwood. “He always works hard, he’s a great competitor. Harrison has put in a lot of extra work at quarterback camps over the summer and he’s always trying to find that edge. I’m real proud of him.” Sanders plans to continue his spread, zone-read offense that proved to be so effective last year.
Some rebuilding will be taking place on the offensive line with freshman Griffin Staples, a strong athletic young man, and sophomore Cage Jackson, who Coach Sanders says has the muscular strength to step in and contribute effectively in the trenches. These two newcomers will be joining the returning starters like Buddy Holliday who were so important in the Lions’ powerful offense last season.
Victory Christian will also be looking at a new backfield now that Shawn Traywick graduated and took his 1,000+ yard legs with him. Stepping in to carry the ball will be junior Michael Venkler, who proved to be an effective offensive weapon against Donoho last season, and senior Daniel Barber, who showed a lot of speed in his special team duties from last season. Barber got a lot of reps as a running back last year and is more than ready to join Venkler in the backfield this year.
Key Game(s) of 2016: Coach Sanders is too smart of a coach to lose perspective and not lose sight of the big picture. One must remember that Victory Christian is a Christian institution, with its teachings of humility and generosity. Having said that, Victory Christian would not be blamed if they were eyeballing their rematch against Wadley on October 7th. One of the only two regular season losses for VCS last year came against Wadley, a 50-14 defeat that reminded the Lions of how far they still needed to go to achieve a championship. A great way to measure improvement is to see how VCS fares against this year’s Wadley squad, and maybe … just maybe take some sting out of last year’s loss.
Preseason Notes – Sanders emphasized the growing popularity of his program at Victory Christian within the student body. “We are blessed,” the coach reflected on his team. “There are over 30 boys suiting up this year, and at a small school like ours having that many is a blessing.” The excitement on campus has once again returned. “Now that school has started there has been a lot more buzz about our team. As far as our team goes, we are all very focused, even more than last year. We lost a lot of good seniors last year and these guys know they have big shoes to fill, but I think they are fully capable of doing that.”
Players to watch
The buzz all over 1A football last year was the emergence of Victory Christian and this young, lanky sophomore quarterback who picked apart defenses with his arm and his legs, gaining over 2300 yards of offense and scoring 31 touchdowns. Cheatwood has put on some weight this off season and at 6’1” and 170 pounds, he is now growing into the type of quarterback that will start turning the heads of some college scouts. Cheatwood proved last year to be an excellent zone-read quarterback, who could freeze threats and find targets downfield like Ethan Carlisle and David Smith.
Cheatwood’s favorite target is Smith, a returning senior who is likely the best athlete in the school. Smith allows Cheatwood and the Lions to be a vertical threat team. Great route running, sure hands, and speed allows Smith to get separation on deep routes and gain huge chunks of yards downfield as a crucial part of the Lions’ passing attack. He also displays great open field running and adapts to make elusive moves when he finds himself in traffic. The success of the Lions offense this season will depend largely on how well Smith continues into his senior year.
Victory Christian Lions schedule
08/19/2016 7:00 PM CDT Sumiton Christian School VCS Football Field
08/26/2016 7:00 PM CDT Alabama School for the Deaf VCS Football Field
09/02/2016 7:00 PM CDT Donoho School VCS Football Field
09/09/2016 7:00 PM CDT Appalachian High School VCS Football Field
09/16/2016 7:00 PM CDT at Talladega Co. Central High Sch. Tiger Stadium
09/23/2016 7:00 PM CDT at Coosa Christian School Coosa Christian
09/30/2016 7:00 PM CDT Ragland High School VCS Football Field
10/07/2016 7:00 PM CDT at Wadley High School Curtis-Lynch Memorial Stadium
10/21/2016 7:00 PM CDT at Winterboro High School Bulldog Memorial Stadium
10/28/2016 7:00 PM CDT at Vincent High School Harold Garrett Stadium