Florida Forecast

Here's a look at the teams participating in the Homeschool Football Tournament and how the are ranked and rated by MaxPreps.  

	Tourney	NHFCS	National	Adjusted
	Seeding	Ranking	Ranking	Rating	Team
Div I
	1	1	6,190	38.7	Lighthouse (Springfield, MO)
	2	3	8,177	29.5	Cent Virginia (Richmond, VA)
	3	6	10,544	18.9	Christ Prep (Kansas City)
	4	16	12,436	7.6	CHEF (Baton Rouge, LA)
Div II
	5	11	11,584	13.3	Dallas HSAA
	6	12	11,716	12.5	Tomball (Houston)
	7	13	11,803	12.1	Maryland Christian (Bel Air, MD)
	8	14	11,898	11.4	N. Georgia (Atlanta)
	9	25	13,343	0.0	Acadiana (Lafayette, LA)

Last season CPA participated in Div II but this year the Patriots come in as the #3 seed in Div I.  The computers say Coach Cook's team will be an 11 point underdog verses defending champion Central Virginia Disciples but the proof will be in the pudding.

Here's why the Patriots will win:

1) The Front Four - no team this season has been able to run effectively against the Patriot front four.  Rock Creek put up big rushing numbers but came on three big plays on the edge.  Cameron Blair, Cale Thomas, David Schilling, Charlie Davis & Clark Bee stopped every opponent this season from running the ball inside.

2) Special Teams - in every game the Patriots have lost there were special teams breakdowns.  A clean special teams game will be key and CPA has the skills to do it.  Gabe Jones puts opponents on their heels with his kick offs and he has the potential to make 30 yard field goals, something few teams have.  Chase Stamatis has big play potential in the return game but has been kept in check most of this season.  Last year on Pete Edwards Field he returned a kickoff 89 yards.  Will Cook has several punts over 50 yards!

3) Turnovers - the Patriots are +13 in turnover margin this season.  This team has a knack for making plays.  Regan Hurley has forced five fumbles this season and Stamatis has forced four to go along with four interceptions.  This is a team of ball hawkers.

A solid run defense, good field position and turnovers will set the stage for an upset in Panama City, FL on Thursday.

How good are these Patriots?

CPA played a tough schedule and went 2-3 against teams that made their state playoffs.  Midway won two games in the Missouri Class 1 playoffs before losing to Osceola, a team the Vikings defeated in the first week of the season.  Throughout this season, MaxPreps has ranked McLouth ahead of Rock Creek and Douglass but now that the playoff data is in the Mustangs have risen.  They were the third best team on the Christ Prep schedule.

In Florida, next week the Patriots will face stiff competition with Lighthouse, Central Virginia Disciples, Dallas HSAA and others.

Here's a look at how the teams that have been/are/will be on the Christ Prep schedule fared this season based on the National Ranking according to MaxPreps.    

Rank		Team	National
1		Hogan Prep	3,794
2		Midway	5,338
3		Lighthouse	5,886
4		St. Marys	6,611
5		Pembroke Hill	6,846
6		Tulsa NOAH	6,849
7		Central Va Disciples	8,177
8		Rock Creek	9,294
9		Anderson Cavaliers	9,530
10		University Academy	9,552
11		Douglass	9,685
12		McLouth	9,720
13		Christ Prep	10,544
14		Wabaunsee	10,653
15		Dallas HSAA	10,870
16		Tomball Christain Home	11,716
17		Maryland Christian Saints	11,803
18		N. Ga Falcons	11,898
19		Christ. Home Ed. (LA)	12,436
20		Lone Jack	12,824
21		Oskaloosa	12,913
22		Butler	13,017
23		Onaga	13,116
24		Southwest Early College	13,880
25		Jayhawk Linn	14,026
26		Jeff Co. North	14,234
27		Immaculata	14,561

Tanner Metzdorf giving it all in the loss against Lighthouse.

Chargers Pound Patriots on Senior Night

STANLEY, KS - Lighthouse scored on their first possession and then both teams struggled offensively but the Chargers did enough to prove why they are ranked #1 among the 48 homeschooled teams around the country with a 28-12 victory over CPA.  The Patriots effort was enough to stay competitive the entire game but the execution was too spotty and ultimately the Charger defense was too much with a fumble return for a touchdown to go with three interceptions.

The Charger offense was more about big plays and none was bigger than the 65 yard pass from Adam Davis to Parker Crain just over the outstretched arm of Davis White.  Later in the third period, on a 3rd and 25 play Davis found #88 Marvin Good for 74 yard pitch and catch.

CPA had a few bright spots in the 4th quarter when Tanner Metzdorf found Chase Stamatis along the right sideline to set up a Metdorf 2 yard TD run.  Then as time was running out the Patriots scored again on a Metzdorf 1 yard run. 

CPA lost kicker and defensive back Gabe Jones in the 2nd quarter to a thigh injury when he was hit by teammate Stamatis but PATs weren't the problem for the Patriots - the problem was a talented and well coached Charger team.

Next up Panama City where we could see a rematch between these two teams for the tournament championship.

Game of the Week: Lighthouse vs. Christ Prep

Top ranked Lighthouse Christian comes to town to play #7 Christ Prep in the game of the week among 11-man homeschooled teams around the nation tomorrow night at 8pm at Blue Valley West High School (162nd & Antioch).  CPA is coming off back to back shutouts with victories over Jayhawk-Linn and Sunrise Christian.  Lighthouse has won four in a row to bring their season record to 8-2.  The Chargers have an impressive win 13-7 over Tulsa NOAH.

It will be Senior Night for some fine young men:  Clark Bee, Matt Dawdy, Regan Hurley, Steven Maloy, Levi Mann, Cameron Rucker, David "Double D" Schilling, Noah Stegner, and Davis White.

Here's how the two teams match up but the long and short of it is that on paper Lighthouse is a two touchdown favorite.

Category       Lighthouse   Christ Prep

Record             7-2          5-3

National Rank     6,171       10,089

Homeschool Rank     #1          #7

Rating             7.5         -8.8

Strength of Sch.  -2.8        -14.2 

Best Win       Tulsa NOAH     Douglass

Opp Rating         3.5         -7.8

Result            13-7         40-28

Best Opp       Cascia Hall    Midway

Opp Rating        27.6         14.3

Result            26-40        14-40

Last Year Lighthouse 14 Christ Prep 6.

JH CPA 38 KC Rampage 25

KANSAS CITY, MO - The Patriot JH improved its record to 6-2 with a 38-25 hard fought victory in an 11-man contest on a beautiful afternoon for football today.  As usual, the Patriots were led by Jeremy Kucera who scored five touchdowns!


Kucera made the play of the year which was set up by a Luke Thomas hit that jarred the ball loose and Grant Stamatis recovered at midfield. Kucera then took a toss sweep around the right side and broke free before the Rampage defense hemmed him in at the 20 yard line. But, he stiff armed two defenders spun around and back tracked until he found room to run around the left side for a touchdown.  

 The KC Rampage quarterback kept things interesting with his ability to improvise and pulled the Rampage to a 19-19 tie at the half.

Micah Blankenship picked off a pass and returned it 50 yards to the Rampage redzone but unfortunately threw an interception of his own two plays later.  Colby Metzdorf made the second of 3 Patriot picks and then the CPA offense kept things moving and Kucera scored again to put the Patriots up 26-19 in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter Blankenship rushed around the left side for another score before Kucera capped off the scoring for a 38-19 advantage.

    Q1  Q2  Q3  Q4 
CPA 13   6   6  13
KCR 12   7   0   6

Shutout Again! CPA 62 SCA 0

BEL AIRE, KS - Last year's game between Christ Prep and Sunrise Christian Academy was a back and forth thriller.  This year the only suspense came late in the 4th quarter when the Patriot defense was holding on to their shutout.  The defense owned the Bison all game and kept an opponent out of the end zone for the second straight week.  Final score CPA 62 SCA 0!

The defensive effort was led by Levi Mann with 9 tackles and an interception.  Regan Hurley contributed 8 tackles and forced a fumble but everyone got in on the action.  Chase Stamatis intercepted two of the four picks for the Patriots and the Bison were reeling throughout the game, rarely earning a first down or crossing mid-field in the 8-man contest.  Davis White and also picked off a pass and returned it for 17 yards.

The Patriot offense was just as dominant. Stamatis, at running back for the first time in a varsity game, took game high honors with 103 yards rushing to go with a touchdown and Will Cook chipped in 63 yards with two TDs and two 2pt conversions.  Tanner Metzdorf went 5-9-0 for 140 yards passing and three touchdowns including a 27 yarder to senior defensive lineman David Schilling midway through the second quarter to bring the CPA fans and teammates to their feet. Metzdorf also ran for a touchdown.

But other Patriots got in on the action as well - Regan Hurley had 42 yards rushing and his first offensive TD.  Matt Dawdy showed off his big play potential with a 60 yard touchdown reception and fellow track star, Isaac Smith, scored two points after TDs.  Ethan Moran showed his knee is just fine by taking a Metzdorf pass 53 yards to paydirt.  He now has two catches on the season and both for touchdowns.  

At the half, the Patriots led 32-0 and the route was on.  The Bison didn't make any adjustments and Coach Hammock didn't change anything either - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."  The offensive line consisting of Hurley, Noah Stegner, Charlie Davis, Cameron Blair and Schilling pushed around the Bison defense for three quarters before Coach Cook began subbing in other players.

CPA (5-3) is now primed for their regular season finale against rival Lighthouse Christian who defeated Oklahoma City Legion to setup a game between to Top 10 teams in the National Homeschool Football Championship rankings.

CPA vs. Sunrise Christian Boxscore

Tigers Pounce on JH Patriots 34-8

LEVEANWORTH, KS - The Junior High Chris Prep football team had been rolling over their competition with the only exception a tough loss at St. Mary's Academy, however, that came to an end tonight in their first 11-man contest of the season.  Ft. Leveanworth capitalized on crucial errors by the CPA offense to run away with a 34-8 victory.

The Patriots offense was hampered by the absence of running back, Jeremy Kucera, and the defense had their backs against the wall throughout the first half because of poor field position.

The bright spot of the game came with less than a minute to play when Grant Gilkison scored on a long run and then Micah Blankenship found Noah Blair for the 2pt conversion to prevent a shut out.

JH plays Saturday night against KC Rampage.