The first two championships in the state of Texas will be decided this week in the two divisions of the TCAF, also known as the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship. The two games will be on Saturday, Nov. 19 in Springtown. The first game is the Division One between Nazarene Christian Academy and Lucas Christian Academy at 7 pm and the second game is in Division Two between Lakeland Christian Academy and St. Paul’s Prep at 4 pm.
The Lucas Christian Academy Warriors are the favorites from Lucas, TX. They have lived up to their 27th ranking in the state and their 71st ranking overall by winning all twelve games, winning District 1 and appearing in the state championship. The Warriors have dominated every opponent and they continued that into the playoffs.
In last week’s semifinal game against Methodist Children’s Home (7-4), the Warriors blew out the Bulldogs 74-49. A 24-point second quarter by the Warriors was the difference in the game. Their best performance came from dual-threat senior quarterback Connor McClellan, who ran for 207 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Sophomore running back Jackson Steger ran for 129 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Warriors also shut out their quarterfinals opponent the Inspired Eagles 50-0 and McClellan had two rushing touchdowns in that game.
The Nazarene Christian Academy Lions have had a successful season residing in Crowley, TX by appearing in the state championship. They proved to be pretty dominant in their two playoff games like their opponent.
In their semifinal game last week, they blew out the Wylie Prep Academy Patriots 62-48 thanks to a 16-0 advantage in the first quarter. The Lions ran the ball for five touchdowns and 247 rushing yards, and junior running back Tyler Toomer had three rushing touchdowns on 12 carries and 187 yards. Defensively, senior Greyson Coconougher, who lines up at linebacker and on the defensive line, had 16 tackles and senior linebacker Keith Ferguson returned an interception for a 40-yard touchdown. The Lions also took care of the 4-7 Dallas Academy Bulldogs 63-15. They scored 40 points in the second quarter.
The two teams are from the same district and they played on Oct. 1 and the Warriors blew out the Lions 78-42. Lucas Christian Academy should win in a similar fashion this time too.
The St. Paul’s Prep Lions have consistently scored 60 points all year and they went over 70 points in their two playoff games. Their semifinal game was against the Faustina Academy Falcons (6-6) and they won the game by 20 points, albeit the score was 74-54. Junior running back Trey Stanton was the star of the game with 25 carries, 228 rushing yards for an average of nine yards per carry and four rushing touchdowns. In their quarterfinal game against the Covenant Classical Cavaliers (3-6), the Lions set a season-high for points scored in a game with a 76-30 blow out. Junior quarterback Justin Wafer had four touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns, Stanton had three running touchdowns and senior wide receiver Mason Hardman had three receiving touchdowns.
The Lakeland Christian Academy Lions appear in the state championship coming off two high scoring playoff games themselves. Their semifinal game resulted in a 65-42 over a pretty good team in Victory Christian Academy (8-3). The Lions outscored the Patriots 45-21 in the second and third quarters of the game. Junior quarterback Lawson Labat threw for six touchdowns and 245 passing yards and ran for three touchdowns and senior wide receiver Eric Greilich had four receiving touchdowns. The Lions’ quarterfinal against the Heritage Christian Academy Lions (3-6) was a high scoring game they won 69-56. They won thanks to 33 points in the third quarter and Lawson was responsible for nine touchdowns: three touchdown passes, five rushing touchdowns and a 39-yard interception returned for a touchdown.
The two teams come from District 2 and they played on Sept. 16. St. Paul won 62-14 so they should win again with ease.
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