Victory Christian Academy football was reduced to a five-game regular season in 2020 because of the pandemic, and the experience has made players value being back on the field preparing for a potentially normal season.
“Everyone’s taking practice very seriously, and it feels like they want it more,” said Matthew Moore, a 6-foot, 225-pound senior lineman for the Eagles. “It was easy to see how quickly it can be taken away from you, so this year everyone’s seeing it for what it is. It’s a privilege.
“Everyone’s taking it more seriously, and they’re wanting to be here. I feel like the guys are working hard this year. As a senior, it makes you proud to see it.”
For longtime coach Chris Hamm, whose myriad duties at the school caused him to step back from coaching last season, just making it through counts as an accomplishment.
“It was a tough year for us,” Hamm said. “We were low on numbers. We made the season, but the guys really gutted it out, played hard. With the low numbers we had and the other things that were going on, it was amazing to make the season. We had a couple of games we didn’t get to play due to the other team.”
Low numbers is a relative concept at a school with fewer than 300 students, and Hamm said the Eagles generally have 16 to 20 players on the roster.
“Right now, we’ve got about 11, 12 guys,” Hamm said. “Hopefully, we’ll pick up some when school starts. We don’t start until the 16th, and we start playing on the 27th, so we still have a little bit of time.
“The core group that we’ve got, we’ve got a solid eight. It would be nice to have a little depth, but we’ll do what we have to do.”
The good news for the Eagles is that there is experience among that group, including Moore and fellow seniors quarterback Tyshon Rogers, running back Camron Henley and lineman Logan Clements.
Rogers threw for 462 yards and seven touchdowns during a 2-4 2020 campaign, in which two of the losses, including one in the playoffs, came against 10-win Russell Christian Academy of Meridian. His best game came in a 66-point explosion against Tabernacle, when he threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Rogers also was the Eagles’ leading rusher, compiling 447 yards and six touchdowns. Henley was right behind, netting 339 yards and three scores, including 164 yards and two TDs in a 54-38 win over New Life Christian. Rogers scored 52 of the Eagles’ 152 points in five league games.
“I got a lot more playing time last year, a lot better than my sophomore year,” said Henley, who had 64 carries last season after 19 the year before. “We’re more of a run offense; we run the ball about 90% of the time. I get a lot of carries.”
Defensively, Rogers and Moore tied for third on the team in tackles with 22, while Henley was right behind with 21. Henley also had a 75-yard kickoff return and had two of the team’s five interceptions,
The Eagles open their season at home Aug. 27 against Unity Christian Academy of Leland, one of the other Mississippi schools in the Christian Football Association, a league that often has VCA traveling to Tuscaloosa or Birmingham for games. Hamm said his team has won the league four or five times over the years, and his seniors believe they can have success this season.
“We can win it all,” Henley said. :Work hard, play as a team.”
Moore was confident as well, if a bit more restrained.
“This year we have a little bit more manpower than we had last year,” he said. “If we keep working like we’ve been working, if we can keep that going throughout the rest of the season, I feel like we’re going to have a very good chance.”
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