CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN — To Bruce Miller, it’s just a game, nothing more.
But for the quickly-rising Lanier Christian Academy football program, and its community, Friday night’s GAPPS-league showdown with Calvary Christian at Cabbell Field could mean a lot more.
The Lightning (3-0) have won 12 of their 15 games since Miller took over the program at the start of the 2021 season. They have moved back up to the 11-man league. The participation numbers are up.
The two teams come in as the highest-scoring teams in the 10-team league, which is split into two five-team divisions. LCA is yielding the fewest points in the league. It could be a precursor for a GAPPS league title showdown in December.
However, Miller wouldn’t bite that this may be the kind of game that propels the program into any kind of state spotlight.
“I’m very pleased with where the program is right now. We’re playing well on both sides of the ball. But our focus right now is just on this game,” he said. “It’s just a game; the next game. Nothing more right now.
“It’s way too early to put any huge expectations on this for us. We’re still building this thing.”
It’s hard to say early on which unit is dominating more. LCA is averaging a GAPPS-best 59.2 points/game (179 points). The defense has given up just 14 points (4.6 ppg).
The Knights (3-1) are averaging 36.5 ppg behind senior Jayden Mason, who leads GAPPS with a whopping 1,175 yards and 15 TDs rushing. But the Knights have given up the second-most points (101, 25.2 ppg) in GAPPS.
The Lightning counter with an offense led by freshman quarterback CJ Britt, sophomore running back Zeke Clanton, and a slew of receivers in junior Shepherd Acton, seniors Camden Hohman, Carter Raulerson, and Isaac Dinn, and William Martin.
Britt is second in passing yards with 428 but leads the league in TD passes with 10. Acton (3), Hohman (2), Raulerson (2), Dinn, (1), Clanton (1), and Martin (1) all have caught TD passes for the Lightning. Clanton is second in rushing with 262 yards and has 6 TDs on the ground as well.
Miller said the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball have fueled their early solid play.
Sophomore Jordan Smith, freshman Titus Lulinski, juniors Qwinn Winfrey and Cade Reed, who was lost for the season due to injury, sophomore Josh Waymack, and senior Luke Hopkins have all played well as they have pulled double-duty.
Miller said Hopkins, and a solid core of linebackers led by sophomore Zeke Clanton, senior Isaac Dinn, junior Sheppard Acton, along with Ben Hargis Jr., have given them a tough front-7.
“Hopkins has really been a terror on defense,” Miller said. “He’s fun to watch play. The key so far has just been that stability up front on the line, on both sides. The offense has been explosive and the defense has really played well. Our front-seven has been a tough unit to crack so far.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be a high-scoring game or not. Their running back is the real-deal and a load to stop. We will have to find a way to slow him down, but no one else has yet.
“We’re going to do what we do on offense. We want to be balanced and we’ll have to give Zeke some room to run and give CJ time to throw. I feel like both defenses will be tested in this one. But you never really know in games like this.”
One thing Miller does know is, his young QB is already beyond his years.
“I said before the season I thought CJ had a chance to be one of the best quarterbacks I’ve coached and so far I don’t see anything that would make me change my mind on that,” he said. “CJ has the ability to create things when nothing much is there. He’s got a strong, accurate arm. He’s smart.
“But the most important thing is that he’s very coachable. He wants to keep getting better.”
By admission, Miller said this will be the first real test of the season for his group, and maybe as a program, to see where they measure up as they contemplate the future.
“This will be our biggest challenge so far this season, and maybe all year,” Miller said. “But we’re at a point in the season where we need to be challenged. I’m just looking for the guys to play hard and how well we handle adversity. We haven’t had much of that yet. We probably need it.”
