The changes continue for the Victory Christian football team.
Coach Chris Hamm would have loved another day to help freshman Anthony Sharp transition from wide receiver to quarterback, but he won’t have that luxury this week.
Instead of spending today walking through typical game-day preparations, Victory Christian will travel to Bessemer, Ala., to take on Flint Hill at 7 tonight in a Christian Football Association game.
Hamm and the Eagles (3-1) could have used another day of practice after they lost junior quarterback Bryer Bolton to a broken arm last week in a victory against Heritage Christian.
Instead, Victory Christian will turn to Sharp, who took over in the first quarter last week and led the Eagles to a 44-0 victory.
“The good thing about Anthony is he played some quarterback in junior high, and in two-a-days we worked him in at quarterback as a backup,” Hamm said. “He is already familiar with our offense, and he went in Friday night and didn’t miss a beat.”
Hamm said Sharp’s knowledge of the offense will enable the Rams to stick with their entire playbook. He said they likely will incorporate some new wrinkles to accommodate for Sharp’s ability to make plays on the run.
“He is more of a roll-out passer, as opposed to Bryer, who stood in the pocket and threw from there,” Hamm said. “If he didn’t have that experience and hadn’t played some and already played the position, it would have been a pressure situation getting someone up to speed.”
Hamm said he will try to work Cody Bolton, Bryer’s brother, in on defense at Sharp’s position — cornerback — to give his new quarterback some rest. Sharp likely won’t have much time off the rest of the season. Victory Christian will have its third and final bye week next week before it takes on North River and Tuscaloosa Christian in CFA games that will determine playoff seeding.
Hamm said it will be important for Sharp and the Eagles to use tonight’s game to gain confidence. He also hopes the team will continue to pull together after Bolton’s injury, much like it did at the beginning of the season. Prior to the start of the season, Victory Christian senior Marcus Sims, who was their starter at quarterback last season, was involved in an automobile accident and was lost for the season.
“You never know as a backup or as a younger player when your number is going to be called, so you have to be ready,” Hamm said. “We talked to the entire team about everybody pulling together and taking up the slack. We also have talked about encouraging Bryer when he comes back to school (He will be back Monday.), and to remember he is still a part of us and we’re a team.
“I think they’re ready to play. I noticed we seemed to pull together and step up after Bryer was injured and played a good game. In the second half, we had some turnovers but we drew close together after the most recent adversity. I want that to continue and for us to succeed regardless of the hand we have been dealt.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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