The senior football players from Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy (SMLCA) finished their last game on their home field in style Friday with a 53-20 victory over the Mountain View Generals.
The Ospreys, 8-1 this season, will seek to finish with nine wins in 10 games at this Friday night’s game on the road at Isle of Wight Academy.
Osprey senior tailback Kayden Saunders, who has been with team since the school has had a team, led the way for theSMLCA offense with two rushing and two receiving touchdowns against the Generals. Saunders had 221 yards rushing on 13 carries and caught two passes for 47 yards. “You could tell the boys were ready to play,” SMLCA Coach Kenis Maciel said of the Ospreys’ effort Friday. “Kayden Saunders ran like a man-child. It took three or four guys to bring him down every time.”
Junior Chase Miller put the Ospreys on the scoreboard with a 6-yard run early in the first quarter and senior Jacob Tuckwilerscored his first touchdown reception ever with a 47-yard TD catch to give SMLCA a 13-0 lead.
Mountain View cut the lead to 13-6 on an 80-yard touchdown pass, but it was all SMLCA for the rest of the half. Saunders had three of his four touchdowns, Bruce Phillips scored on a fumble recovery and Josh Bisnett scored on an 11-yard run. The Ospreys led 46-6 at the half.
Coach Maciel said the entire team rallied around playing a good game for the team’s six seniors. “You could definitely see that,” he said. “They took to heart what we were saying as far as playing for the seniors.”
Saunders scored his fourth touchdown on a 55-yard run in the third quarter.
The Osprey defense was able to get pressure on Mountain View’s quarterback while the defensive line and linebackers held the Generals running game in check for much of the game. Mountain View was limited to 139 yards on the ground and 118 through the air, much of that came on that long touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Mountain View is a Division 2 public school, a win which Coach Maciel said was good to get. “That’s something we really strive for,” he said. “It’s nice to compete against those schools that are bigger than us.”
For the game, the Osprey offense piled up 268 yards on the ground and 133 through the air, with Jacob Parziale hitting 6-of-7 passes, including the four touchdown tosses.
“We passed more than usual,” Coach Maciel said. “It was one of those games I felt we were going to be able to run the ball. I didn’t think we would need all three downs to get a first down with the run. We were able to be more creative with the play calls.”
In addition to his rushing touchdown, Bisnett also had an interception for the Osprey D.
Senior Gabe Shaffer led the defense with nine tackles, Zach Witcher added seven and Miller had six.
In all, six seniors played for the Ospreys this season Saunders, Shaffer, Tuckwiler, Micah Vandelinde, Adam Heckman and Austin Harkin. Like Saunders, Harkin was also on the Ospreys’ original team.
“We’re very proud of our seniors,” Coach Maciel said. “It was nice to be able to send them out like that.”
In addition to celebrating a victory and the Ospreys, the fans were also treated to a tremendous sunset and the first home game under the field’s permanent lighting. “It was a perfect fall evening for football,” Coach Maciel said.
Fans also got to enjoy the school’s new concession stand.
The team had a new sign made—To God Be the Glory—that will hang in the locker room. “We’ll touch that before every practice and every game,” Coach Maciel said, adding that many teams to come will touch that sign, reminding themselves of the reason they play the game.
Coach Maciel expects Isle of Wight to bring a balanced offense to this Friday’s season finale. While some of last year’s best players graduated, Coach Maciel said Isle of Wight still has a good team with a strong quarterback.
The game will be Isle of Wight’s senior night. “We’ve heard it’s a tough place to play,” Coach Maciel said. “We know they’re going to be up to play us. They’ve won several state championships and have a long football history.
“If we have a good week of practice and come out as prepared as we have been, we should be able to do well,” the SMLCA coach added.
