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HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Varsity Football - Recent Highlights
Historic Season
FCS wraps up 2011 Campaign with .500 Record
Roswell, Ga.,
Another successful chapter in the Fellowship Christian School football
history book has been completed, and it has turned out to be a pretty
good one.
Led by a spirited group of nine seniors playing their final season at
FCS, the Paladins finished 2011 with a 5-5 record. It marks the first
time in school history the team has finished with an actual .500
record, and is only the third time that the varsity team has reached
five wins in a season. The Paladins (5-5 overall and 1-5 in Region
play in 2011) set a school record with an 11-2 mark in 2007, and
finished 5-6 in 2005.
Senior running back Stephen Lantz led the Paladins with 150 yards and
three touchdowns on 14 carries in a season-ending 40-6 victory over
Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy on Nov. 4.
“Stephen has had an unbelievable two years,” Chadwick said. “He was
committed to the program from the beginning, and he led by example on
the field and in the weight room. Other kids saw his effort and fed
off of that.”
Lantz led that group of seniors, including Blais Furse, Robert
Germaine, Bo Ibsen, Jacob Miller, Trace Sells, Trent Van Pelt, Bryce
Wells and Aaron Wilson, who were instrumental to the Paladins’ five
victories.
“The seniors have set the bar high here,” FCS head coach Hunter
Chadwick said. “They helped me roam the hallways and encourage the
younger kids to play football. They have showed all season long what
it means to be a good teammate. They will be a hard group to replace.
They are a great group of kids.”
Through his first two seasons at FCS, Chadwick has earned a 7-13
record. He is pleased with the results so far, but understands the
challenge to continue building a successful program.
“It takes time to rebuild,” he said. “We hope to get better next
year. 5-5 is a great start. It’s not 6-4 or 10-0, but we will take
it.”
A solid corps of juniors like Tyler Hart, Conor Linneen and Landon
Kadi will be important to the team’s continued improvement next
season. “They are quiet leaders,” Chadwick said. “We will need them
all to step up in 2012 and lead by example.”
Lantz, who lost just one fumble all season, topped the Paladins with
729 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 88 carries this season. Hart
led the team with 121 carries and ranked second with 689 yards as FCS
finished with 2,258 rushing yards as a team in 2011.
The team’s quarterback, Furse ranked third on the Paladins with 264
rushing yards and was second with four rushing TDs. Sophomore fullback
James Wilson finished fourth with 249 rushing yards and junior running
back/back-up quarterback Travis Kinney had 128.
Furse completed 31-of-71 pass attempts for 472 yards, three touchdowns
and four interceptions. Linneen led the team with 10 catches
(including one TD) and 217 reception yards, while Kadi was next with
nine grabs and 99 yards. Lantz was third on the squad with six catches
and 88 yards, and sophomore Hunter Bryant led the team with two
receiving touchdowns. He caught four passes for 80 yards.
Linneen, a defensive back, topped FCS with 39 solo tackles, 35
assisted tackles and 74 total stops this season. Germaine, a
linebacker, ranked second with 33 assisted tackles and 57 total
tackles. Lantz, also a defensive back, finished second on the team
with 31 solos tackles and ranked third with 50 total tackles. James
Wilson was next with 36 tackles, followed by Hart with 34, Sells with
33, Miller with 28 and Van Pelt with 23.
Linneen grabbed a team-best two interceptions, while Taylor Cookston,
Germaine, Hart, Kadi and James Wilson had one apiece. Hart pounced on
a team-leading two fumbles, while Dalton Depew, Germaine, Ibsen, Kadi,
Kinney, Lantz, Linneen, Sells, Van Pelt and James Wilson had one
fumble recovery each.
The team sack leader was Germaine with two. Kinney registered 1½
sacks, followed by Ibsen, Deklan Reid, Van Pelt, Aaron Wilson and
James Wilson with one sack each. Sells and Miller each notched a half
sack.
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