Chris Hamm knows the feeling.
Hamm has had plenty of players who could change a game with one touch of the ball in his time as coach of the Victory Christian football team.
Most recently, players like Landon Ellis and Tyler Jones and Daylan Hairston have played key roles in helping the Eagles rise to the stop of the Christian Football Association and win 30 games in a row and league titles in 2008 and ’09.
But the cycle of high school sports almost guarantees that all teams will be blessed to have at least one player who is a handful to stop.
Tabernacle Christian, out of Gardendale, Ala., has a player like that this season in Freddie Goodgame. The senior running back ran for five touchdowns and had 329 all-purpose yards to help the Torches claim an early hold on CFA supremacy with a 58-28 victory against the Eagles on Sept. 9.
While disappointed with the result, Hamm said the Eagles (2-1) did a respectable job against Goodgame. Now the motivation for Victory Christian will be to take care of its business so it can earn a chance to earn a rematch. The first step will come at 7 tonight when Victory Christian will play Heritage Christian Academy.
Although it isn’t a CFA game, Hamm said his team is eager to get back on the field following an off week after the game against Tabernacle.
“What we talked about, and they feel it and saw it too, is we could have played a much better game,” Hamm said. “I think we turned ball over four times and missed a lot of assignments on defense, so there is a lot of room for improvement. Looking at their game, I don’t think they could have played a more perfect game. They had no turnovers and they just executed a really good game plan.”
Hamm also felt the Eagles did their best to contain the running of Goodgame. While Goodgame had 190 rushing yards, Hamm said he did most of his damage on screen passes, which capitalized on the inexperience of his defense.
Hamm said Victory Christian used the off week to tweak its defense. He said it difficult to play a zone defense in eight-man football, but he feels the changes have addressed areas that Tabernacle and Goodgame exploited.
In past years, Hamm said players like Ellis, Jones, or Hairston could help Victory Christian keep pace and score with opponents until the defense made a key stop. This time, though, Goodgame was that player.
“I feel like down the road if we get a chance to play them again we will be able to clean up some of that as far as experience and not knowing (how to handle something) on defense. They’re still going to be a handful.”
Hamm hopes teams will be able to say that about his squad. Victory Christian will return to CFA play next week when it plays at Flint Hill. It will have its third and final open week before winding up the regular season with games against North River and Tuscaloosa Christian. The top four teams in the CFA will advance to the playoffs. The top two will earn a chance to play host to first-round games.
Hamm feels the Eagles can accomplish those goals and earn another shot at Goodgame. But he cautions that a second chance to play Tabernacle can’t force Victory Christian to lose focus. If that happens, Hamm knows the Eagles will have missed an opportunity.
“We want another shot at Tabernacle,” Hamm said. “We have to take care of business because we feel we can play a much better game. That is the motivating factor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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