September 8, 2007
On a hot Saturday afternoon, the Disciples beat the Massanutten Military Academy Colonels 22-13, improving their record to 2-1 and recording the first victory ever by a homeschool team over a non-homeschool varsity football team. The combination of the Disciples persistent offense and attacking defense were too much for the Colonels, who had defeated Quantico High School 40-7 in their previous game.
The Disciples opened the game by perfectly executing an onside kick. Their initial drive ended with a fumble, however, and Massanutten took a 7-0 lead on its fourth play from scrimmage, a 52-yard run by Yannick Morgan-Welch. On a spectacular play, he ran a sweep to the left sideline, was stopped, reversed his field, broke several tackles and then sprinted down the right sideline, outracing the Disciples defense for a touchdown. This turn of events could have been demoralizing, but the Disciples offense answered with a long drive ending with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Hollis to Kevin Metzger. The Disciples then took the lead, which they never relinquished, when Nathan Hollis completed a pass to James Schlueter for the 2-point conversion.
The Disciples increased their lead in the second quarter with another long drive. A key play was a fourth down run where they faked a reverse and Mike Durrette raced down the right sideline for a first down to keep the drive going. Nathan Hollis scored on a 1-yard run on third and goal, and then completed a pass to Mike Durrette for another 2-point conversion and a 16-7 lead. The Colonels had an apparent kickoff return for a touchdown called back because of a clipping penalty, and the Disciples tenacious defense stiffened near the goal line and prevented the Colonels from scoring at the end of the first half.
The Disciples scored again in the third quarter with another strong drive by the offense. Levi Scott scored the touchdown on a 3-yard run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the Disciples carried a 22-7 lead into the last quarter.
The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, as the Disciples blitzing, aggressive defense continued to disrupt the plays of the potent Colonels offense. The Colonels finally revisited the end zone when Evan Woodfork scored on a 5-yard run with just over 2 minutes to play, bringing the score to 22-13. The Colonels lined up for a 2-point conversion, which would have brought them within one touchdown, but the Disciples defense stiffened for a final time, smothering the quarterback and forcing a fumble. The Disciples offense then ran out the clock, securing the hard-fought victory.
As was evident to all in attendance, the Disciples were well-prepared and well-coached by Coach Dave Hollis and his staff, Jon Harris, Tim Rollogas, Roy Simmons, Bill Ratliff, JT Taylor and Randy Patterson. The team played the entire game with great heart, determination and discipline against a bigger, deeper, talented Massanutten team. The Disciples fans did their part as well, often making more noise than the more numerous Massanutten home team fans as they cheered their team on to victory.
This was a defining game for the team. The Disciples defense bottled up the Colonels explosive running attack, often hitting the backs in the backfield and forcing a number of fumbles and other offensive mistakes. The Disciples offense had its best game of the year, with backs Josh Harris, Michael Durrette, Levi Scott and Nathan Hollis combining to rush for over 200 yards and Nathan Hollis completing 6 of 9 passes to keep the Colonels defense on its heels. Every Disciples player contributed to this team victory, from the players who played both ways the whole game to the ones who didn’t get in the game but provided constant encouragement and support to their teammates on the field.
It was a clean, hard-hitting game, and there were no serious injuries reported. After the game, as is their tradition, the Disciples joined with the Colonels at mid-field for a time of prayer.
Highlights of the game can be seen on the Massanutten website. http://www.mmafootball.com/. Click on “Scoreboard”.
At Noon this Saturday, September 15, the Disciples play the homeschool Loudon Lions. The location of the game has been changed from Loudon to the Disciples home field at Point of Rocks Park, 201 Enon Church Rd, Chester, VA 23831. The cost is $5/adult, $3/student, free for pre-school age ($10 family max).
Come out and support our Disciples!
On a hot Saturday afternoon, the Disciples beat the Massanutten Military Academy Colonels 22-13, improving their record to 2-1 and recording the first victory ever by a homeschool team over a non-homeschool varsity football team. The combination of the Disciples persistent offense and attacking defense were too much for the Colonels, who had defeated Quantico High School 40-7 in their previous game.
The Disciples opened the game by perfectly executing an onside kick. Their initial drive ended with a fumble, however, and Massanutten took a 7-0 lead on its fourth play from scrimmage, a 52-yard run by Yannick Morgan-Welch. On a spectacular play, he ran a sweep to the left sideline, was stopped, reversed his field, broke several tackles and then sprinted down the right sideline, outracing the Disciples defense for a touchdown. This turn of events could have been demoralizing, but the Disciples offense answered with a long drive ending with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Hollis to Kevin Metzger. The Disciples then took the lead, which they never relinquished, when Nathan Hollis completed a pass to James Schlueter for the 2-point conversion.
The Disciples increased their lead in the second quarter with another long drive. A key play was a fourth down run where they faked a reverse and Mike Durrette raced down the right sideline for a first down to keep the drive going. Nathan Hollis scored on a 1-yard run on third and goal, and then completed a pass to Mike Durrette for another 2-point conversion and a 16-7 lead. The Colonels had an apparent kickoff return for a touchdown called back because of a clipping penalty, and the Disciples tenacious defense stiffened near the goal line and prevented the Colonels from scoring at the end of the first half.
The Disciples scored again in the third quarter with another strong drive by the offense. Levi Scott scored the touchdown on a 3-yard run. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the Disciples carried a 22-7 lead into the last quarter.
The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, as the Disciples blitzing, aggressive defense continued to disrupt the plays of the potent Colonels offense. The Colonels finally revisited the end zone when Evan Woodfork scored on a 5-yard run with just over 2 minutes to play, bringing the score to 22-13. The Colonels lined up for a 2-point conversion, which would have brought them within one touchdown, but the Disciples defense stiffened for a final time, smothering the quarterback and forcing a fumble. The Disciples offense then ran out the clock, securing the hard-fought victory.
As was evident to all in attendance, the Disciples were well-prepared and well-coached by Coach Dave Hollis and his staff, Jon Harris, Tim Rollogas, Roy Simmons, Bill Ratliff, JT Taylor and Randy Patterson. The team played the entire game with great heart, determination and discipline against a bigger, deeper, talented Massanutten team. The Disciples fans did their part as well, often making more noise than the more numerous Massanutten home team fans as they cheered their team on to victory.
This was a defining game for the team. The Disciples defense bottled up the Colonels explosive running attack, often hitting the backs in the backfield and forcing a number of fumbles and other offensive mistakes. The Disciples offense had its best game of the year, with backs Josh Harris, Michael Durrette, Levi Scott and Nathan Hollis combining to rush for over 200 yards and Nathan Hollis completing 6 of 9 passes to keep the Colonels defense on its heels. Every Disciples player contributed to this team victory, from the players who played both ways the whole game to the ones who didn’t get in the game but provided constant encouragement and support to their teammates on the field.
It was a clean, hard-hitting game, and there were no serious injuries reported. After the game, as is their tradition, the Disciples joined with the Colonels at mid-field for a time of prayer.
Highlights of the game can be seen on the Massanutten website. http://www.mmafootball.com/. Click on “Scoreboard”.
At Noon this Saturday, September 15, the Disciples play the homeschool Loudon Lions. The location of the game has been changed from Loudon to the Disciples home field at Point of Rocks Park, 201 Enon Church Rd, Chester, VA 23831. The cost is $5/adult, $3/student, free for pre-school age ($10 family max).
Come out and support our Disciples!
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