Patriots Fall in Close Contest

The Christ Prep Patriots lost to the Dallas (Texas) HSAA Blue Angels by a score of 34-29 this afternoon in the Division 2 Championship of the National Homeschool Football Championships in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The Blue Angels came out throwing against the Patriots and on their first possession drove the length of the field to take a 7-0 lead. After punting away to Dallas, CPA's Tanner Metzdorf intercepted a Blue Angel pass which set up a Timothy Finley touchdown run. Both teams scored another first half touchdown--Christ Prep on a Finley to Davis White pass play--and the Patriots went into halftime up 15-14.

The Blue Angels capitalized on a couple of Patriot miscues during the second half and mounted a 34-15 lead until CPA cam back with two touchdowns. The first was set up on a Chase Stamatis 89 yard kickoff return. Stamatis was stopped just short of the goal line but senior Grant Layman found paydirt on the next play. After Finley's PAT was good, the Patriots were down 34-22.

Chase Stamatis again delivered on the next defensive series. Dallas, still passing, made the mistake of going Statmatis's way and he intercepted a Blue Angel pass which set up a touchdown pass from Finley to Josiah Thill.

Besides the interceptions by Metzdorf and Stamatis, one was delivered by Josiah Thill. We'll have offensive and defensive stats later this weekend and more photos later tonight.

Patriots to Face Dallas Today

The Christ Prep Patriots will take on the Dallas Homeschool Team this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Pete Edwards Field in Panama City Beach, Florida. The contest will be the championship game of Class II of the National Homeschool Football Championships.

Stay tuned for photos and results of today's game.

Patriots Win in 15-12 in OT

Timothy Finley kicked a 27 yard field goal in overtime to lift the Christ Prep Patriots over the North Georgia Falcons 15-12 in the first round of the National Homeschool Football Tournament in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The entire contest from start to finish was dominated by CPA's stellar defense and as a result the game was a back-and-forth contest most of the way, especially in the first half, as both teams traded possessions before North Georgia connected on a long pass play which put them up 6-0 at intermission.

During the third quarter, CPA scored on a 6 yard pass from Finley to Chase Stamatis. Finley's PAT was wide, however, so the Patriots and Falcons were then knotted at 6. Immediately after CPA's score, North Georgia scored after the ensuing kickoff on a 56 yard reverse.  That score put North Georgia in the lead until Finley recovered his own fumble in the backfield and ran the ball in for a one yard touchdown. Finley once again missed the PAT so the game was tied at 12-all at the end of regulation.

The overtime rules provide for each team to get four plays from the other team's 10 yard line. North Georgia got the ball first in OT and immediately ran the ball down to the three yard line. On the next play, however, North Georgia fumbled the ball at the goal line and the Patriots recovered, ending the drive.

It was then the Patriots turn to get the ball on the 10. Before running their first play, the Patriots were penalized for having 12 men on the field. So at first-and-fifteen, Christ Prep ran three plays but could only get to the nine-yard-line.  The CPA coaching staff was undaunted by the missed extra points and called on Finley to kick the game winning FG. He delivered, splitting the uprights from the 27 with quite a bit of room to spare.

Christ Prep now advances to the Championship game of their bracket where they'll take on the Homeschool Association of Dallas, Texas who soundly beat (48-6) the CHEF Patriots from Baton Rouge, La. The game will be held Saturday at Arnold High School in Panama City Beach. Stay tuned for the exact time as it will be announced tomorrow.

Christ Prep delivered a well balanced offensive performance. The team had 166 yards rushing on 54 carries. Finley gained 68 yards on 18 carries with a TD while Grant Layman ran for 54 yards on 15 carries. Will Cook contributed 40 yards on 17 carries. Finley threw for 124 yards on 12-23 passing with one TD and one INT. Finley's passes went to Chase Stamatis (4 cathces for 57 yards and one TD), Davis White (4 receptions for 31 yards), Tanner Metzdorf (3 catches for 25 yards), and Josiah Thill (1 catch for 11 yards).

Defensively, the Patriots excelled and received outstanding performances from several individuals. Regan Hurley led the team wih 11 tackles while delivering a blocked PAT. Josiah Thill had 9 tackles and a sack while Timothy Finley added 8 tackles and a fumble recovery.  Cale Thomas had five tackles and two sacks. Will Cook added another fumble recovery while Chris Mills and Davis White each intercepted a Falcon pass. Tanner Metzdorf had two defended passes to go with three tackles.

To view photos of today's action, please follow this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/113773381929590803444/NorthGeorgiaCPAPhotos?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3-kPaKjLTgYQ

Patriots Prepare to Play in Florida

While it's not exactly South Beach, the Christ Prep Patriots are taking their talents to Florida this week as the team competes in the National Homeschool Football Championships.

The team arrived last night and has been greeted by some chilly temperatures in Panama City Beach, the host city. Play begins tomorrow at Pete Edwards Field where the Patriots will take on the North Georgia Falcons. The 6-5 Falcons appear to offer a well balanced attack and should be a formidable foe for CPA.

The Patriot squad got in an afternoon workout at a local field and stretched some muscles which had tightened during the long drive south. Stay tuned for results from tomorrow's 1:00 p.m. contest. In the meantime, enjoy a video and some photos of the team's activities.

Patriots Fall at Lighthouse

If the Christ Prep Patriots came in to tonight's game as heavy underdogs, someone forgot to tell them. CPA played a tough, physical game against Lighthouse Christian (Springfield, Mo.) and had the Chargers on the ropes most of the evening, but eventually fell 14-6 in the contest, held at Willard High School in Willard, Mo.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, which was the first indication that the Patriots had come to play. CPA had not shutout their opponent during the first period in any of their nine previous 2012 games.

The Patriots got on the board early in the second quarter on a Timothy Finley 38 yard field goal. Lighthouse struck back, however, and drove deep into Patriot territory before rushing for a one yard TD. After the PAT, Lighthouse led 7-3. The Patriots added another Finley field goal later in the second quarter, this time from 28 yards, and drew to within one (7-6) at halftime.

The teams traded possessions and turnovers during most of the second half as CPA consistently delivered big plays on defense. The game still stood at 7-6 until late in the game as Lighthouse was driving. Since Lighthouse was burning up clock and threatening to score anywa, the Patriots let them run into the end zone in hopes of getting the ball back with enough time to get back in the game. It was a good idea, but CPA only had about 30 seconds to work with and failed to gain enough ground to threaten.  The game ended there with the a Charger win.

Quarterback Timothy Finley was 10-18 passing for 146 yards and two interceptions. Davis White caught four of those passes and totaled 47 receiving yards. Tanner Metzdorf had three receptions for 24 yards while Chase Statmatis had two for 45 yards and Levi Mann had one for 30.

The Patriots didn't fare as well on the ground. They rushed as a team for 52 yards on 29 carries, many of those coming on busted plays or from Finley being forced to leave the pocket and run. Tanner Metzdorf led the Patriots in rushing with 17 yards on five carries.

The Patriots delivered a season high 88 tackles on defense. Josiah Thill led all defenders with 13 tackles. Regan Hurley added ten while Cameron Blair and Chase Stamatis had eight tackles a piece. Tanner Metzdorf and David Schilling had seven tackles a piece. Timothy Finley had one interception and a fumble recovery while Josiah Thill also had a fumble recovery.

Last night's game marked the conclusion of the regular season for both teams. Lighthouse finished an excellent 7-2 season while CPA finished at 3-7. Both teams will travel in less than two weeks to Panama City, Florida to compete in the National Homeschool Football Championships.

Follow this link https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113773381929590803444/albums/5806669334923056897              to view pictures from the game.