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Northside teams extend win streaks
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The Northside Christian Academy football and volleyball teams have continued to lengthen their winning streaks against opponents from across the state, with each team suffering just one loss early in their seasons.
Both the football and the volleyball teams have endured only one loss each coming from their second and first games respectively. NCA plays teams from all over the state, including two schools from Brunswick, Ga. Recent wins have been against Hope Christian Academy (Starke), Brunswick Christian Academy, Corinth Christian Academy (Jasper), North Kissimmee Christian Academy and Space Coast Christian School (Cocoa). North Kissimmee and Space Coast are schools outside of the South Eastern Christian Conference, which the Northside Eagles are a part of.
The Eagles volleyball team is undefeated in conference play and is heading into the SECC Championship Tournament with a first-place seed. The Eagles suffered their only loss at the first of the season after adding a scrimmage match against Emmanuel Christian School (Brunswick). Since that game, they have won every match this season. Two wins against Corinth Christian Academy secured their top seed. NCA had never defeated Corinth in volleyball prior to this year.
Northside is coached by Glenda Parrish and Alicia Etheridge-neither of whom played organized volleyball prior to their first season as coaches in 2005. Etheridge and Parrish have spent the last five seasons developing young players into the team they now have. In addition to stressing the mastery of fundamentals, the Eagles have attended the Volleyball Team Camp at Clearwater Christian College each of the last two summers.
The volleyball team has overcome illness and injury this season to dominate conference play. Northside has strong leadership on the court with seniors Cristi Barth and Elissa Schlosser and sophomores Kenya Clemons, Rachel Davenport and Cheyenne Hourigan. Davenport, the starting setter, leads the team with 46 assists. She is an aggressive player and does not hesitate to hustle after any ball, even those occasional wild hits.
Though all the girls have worked many hours on strengthening their serves and perfecting the accuracy of each serve, there are a few who really stand out. Leading the team in aces are Clemons (19), Barth (13), Nicole Gordon (13) and Davenport (11).
The Northside flag football team, now 8-1, has outscored opponents 426-119 so far this season. Last year, Northside lost by three touchdowns to Space Coast in the first round of the State Championship Tournament. However, the Eagles bested Space Coast 54-14 last Friday at home.
Northside is a favorite to win the SECC championship this year. The Eagles suffered their only loss during their second game of the season to Old Plank Christian Academy (Jacksonville). The final score was 34-26 after five overtime periods. The two teams played each other again this past Tuesday.
The team continues to be led defensively by senior Sam Drew and offensively by senior Eric Browder and sophomores Sean Hanson and Dustin Elder. Drew leads the team with 56 tackles and 16 sacks, and scored the first safety in school history against North Kissimmee.
Multiple big plays by Hanson at quarterback, Browder at receiver and Elder at running back highlight the offense. Hanson is not a one-receiver quarterback, though. He has connected with 14 different receivers, for 1,567 yards and 39 touchdowns.
Some very promising young players are developing for the Eagles. Seventh-graders, Michael McDowell and Josh Hedman have made multiple outstanding plays, including six sacks and 34 tackles for McDowell and two sacks and seven tackles for Hedman.
The flag football and volleyball teams have a relatively easy schedule after their games against Old Plank. From there, the Eagles set their sights on the SECC Championship Tournament. This is a two-day, double-elimination tournament that determines the league champion in both sports.
This year, the tournament will be hosted Nov. 9-10 by Brunswick Christian Academy. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students per day. Both days will be filled with multiple games, with the championship games being played at 4 p.m. (football) and 6 p.m. (volleyball) on Nov. 10.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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