What’s old is new for Victory Christian this season.

Yes, they’re still an 8-man squad competing in the Alabama Christian Football Association where they’ll match up longtime rival Tuscaloosa Christian, Jacksonville (Ala.) Christian and perennial powerhouse Russell Christian.

They’ll still field a high-octane offensive attack, having averaged more than 27 points per game across the last two seasons. Defense, always a challenge in 8-man football, will continue to be a point of emphasis.

But back in charge of the Eagles is veteran coach Chris Hamm, who led the team from its inception in 1995 until 2022 when he stepped down to focus on the increasing demands of school administration. Hamm, who still serves as school administrator at Victory Christian, is now doing double duty, replacing Andrew Pace, who led the Eagles the past three seasons but left this spring due to family obligations.

Hamm said he’s happy to be back.

“Exciting to be back out there, directly involved,” Hamm told The Dispatch. “I’m back out of necessity, but I am enjoying it.”

VCA went 3-4 last year, with a region win over Tabernacle, but was outscored 190-56 by its other four AFCA opponents, including a 40-16 loss to Tuscaloosa Christian to end the season.

“We’d like to get back in contention,” Hamm said. “That’s the goal. But as far as trying to unseat one of those teams, it’s just a matter of it coming together, having the players. So, it’s just a matter of developing what we’ve got and having the guys buy into being the best they can be so the team can be the best it can be, and let the results take care of themselves.”

One feature of 8-man football is that, due to the amount of open space on the field and the lack of multiple secondary defenders on the back end of the defense, all it takes is one crease or one missed tackle for a ballcarrier to pick up a big gain. Hamm, who said he prefers “two tight ends, two backs, run the ball and play action,” understands that 8-man offense is dictated by the players on the roster.

“This year, we’re going to probably go with more of a spread-type offense,” Hamm said, “simply because I think that’s going to fit this personnel better.”

Junior quarterback Brody Jacobs will be tasked with running the offense. A veteran on the team but new to the position, Jacobs will need to spread the ball around while also looking for running room.

“We’ve got a first-year quarterback, but I think he’s going to be able to throw the ball,” Hamm said.

The Eagles will also lean on junior tight end and linebacker Alex Taylor, whom Hamm said has been a “leader” in workouts so far.

“We’re kind of starting over at the skill positions, but Alex, right now, I feel like his main contribution will be on defense, but we’ll also be using him on the offensive side,” Hamm said.

Victory is playing a lighter schedule than usual with just one game – its Sept. 5 season-opener hosting Unity Christian Academy – outside of its usual five-game conference slate. Per Hamm, that’s by design.

“We made a decision, based on our numbers, that we were going to focus on being able to compete in our conference,” Hamm said.

Of course, at VCA, and particularly with Hamm, the emphasis isn’t just on wins and losses. He believes football, like any other extracurricular activity, has an impact that extends well beyond the end of the season and means more than just pages in a scorebook.

“Our focus is to have an enjoyable, high school experience where you look back on the times that you made road trips and you played the football games and you had homecoming,” Hamm said. “Of course, our rival within the conference, that’s kind of been Tuscaloosa (Christian) over the years, and it’s always, you know, the Tuscaloosa game, ‘Who won that game? How’d that go? Who did what?’”

The Eagles open their season at home in Columbus on Sept. 5 hosting Unity Christian, a team they defeated 36-6 last year in Leland.

Philip Poe is sports editor.