Photo by Whit Holdiness/Special to The Dispatch
Photo by Whit Holdiness/Special to The Dispatch
Victory Christian head coach Andrew Pace isn’t just focused on football. His Eagles, who play in the Alabama Christian 8-Man division, will certainly compete on the field against other small-school rivals on both sides of the state line. But, for Pace, football at this level is about more than just wins and losses.
“…It’s not all about the wins. It’s about the impact that we can make on the kids that are our future when they get older,” Pace told The Dispatch. “I tell them all the time, ‘Hey, your education is more important than being down on this field, so keep it that way. Don’t forget that.’”
But that doesn’t mean Pace and his coaching staff – assistants Cody Jacobs and Chris Taylor along with former players Kayden Barksdale, Matthew Davis and Kenny Collier – aren’t working hard to find success on the gridiron, too, tweaking their offensive scheme to suit this year’s roster.
“I don’t think we’re going to be spreading that much, not as much of a throwing team as last year,” Pace said. “Just with personnel differences this year, we are going to be changing the offense up some…”
Pace said many of his players were able to get in football shape a little earlier than usual, meeting at the school for weightlifting and training sessions over the summer, before beginning conditioning drills on July 15. For an 8-man squad, where most of the players are required to play both offense and defense and, thus, rarely come out of the game, conditioning plays a huge role in the team’s success.
“They know tough work is ahead of them,” he said. “We don’t have as many numbers this year as in players, so we’re going to be playing a lot.”
So far, VCA players are embracing the challenge.
“When you actually dig down and put more into that sprint at the end of practice and make yourself gassed, then you’re going to start getting your stamina up and that’s when you’re going to start getting stronger and better,” Pace said. “They’ve been listening and are really doing that, because I think some of them know, ‘Hey, this is going to be a tough season. We’re going to be on the field a lot more.’”
The Eagles finished the 2023 season with a record of 2-5, 1-5 in district, with wins over Success Academy Unlimited and Mississippi Phoenix Sports Academy, two teams not yet on the 2024 schedule. Coupled with the graduation of seniors Barksdale and Hayden Huff, the Eagles will rely on contributions from both new faces and returnees with bigger roles.
“Mason Hudson, Jackson Wallace and Evan Edwards are probably going to be our three top ball carriers,” Pace said. “Mason and Evan are probably going to switch at quarterback some, so we’ve been working (with) him (Evan) back there and letting Mason run at tailback or fullback more.”
For a school of Victory’s size – fewer than 300 students from Pre-K through twelfth grade – resources are often lacking and rosters are small – Pace anticipates around 14 players on this year’s team. Fortunately, community support remains strong.
“The support we get, it’s just great,” Pace said. “Just watching some of the parents and some of the alumni that are coming and starting to get restrooms cleaned up, repainted, and concession stands where they need to be…just stepping up to help. A lot of them, they just do it. It’s not, ‘Hey, coach, what do you need done?’ They see the things and they come out.”
That support will be key as the Eagles embark on a 2024 season with a revamped roster and a schedule in flux. Due to the continuing referee shortage in Mississippi, Victory often has to play on Thursday nights, sometimes with only a few days’ notice. Still, for Pace’s Eagles, both on and off the field, perseverance is key.
“Our guys, they know to embrace it,” Pace said.
VCA will open the season in Leland on Aug. 23 against Unity Christian. Victory leads the all-time series, 2-1, with the Eagles’ most recent win coming in 2019.
PULL QUOTE
“Our job, I think anybody in education…coaches, you make an impact on all these kids you interact with, whether it’s your own players or players from a different team. If I can be a positive impact or a positive role model in their lives, I love doing that.” VCA head coach Andrew Pace
COACHES
Head coach Andrew Pace
Assistant coaches
Cody Jacobs
Chris Taylor
Kayden Barksdale
Matthew Davis
Kenny Collier
ROSTER
Maddox Blaylock
Brody Crawford
Evan Edwards
Eason Hargrove
Mason Hudson
Brody Jacobs
Kyle Kyzer
Nathaniel Petersen
Malik Petty
Austin Smith
Chris Smith
Alex Taylor
Hunter Thomason
Ty Waldrop
Jackson Wallace
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
