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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

For much of the past decade, the expectation has remained the same for the Evangel Christian Lightning: win the ACSC state and NHSA national 8-man championships.

After another season of claiming both titles in 2023, that standard is still intact going into 2024.

It plays right into the Lightning’s motto for this year: “Here We Go Again.” Now that they are at the start of the season with lofty expectations once again, it’s up to the players to live up to those by bringing the same intensity and drive as past title-winning teams.

However, this year’s team has gone through many changes already, starting with the 16 seniors they lost from last year. That means there’s plenty of starting spots up for grabs on either side of the ball.

If there’s one thing Evangel does well under coach Tim Smith though, it’s reload. Even though all eight defensive starters will need to be replaced, they have plenty of athletes at those positions, including Ethan Stallings, Nick Cloud, Will Welch and Cade Joiner.

On the other side of the ball, Kemp Swords is poised for another excellent year after breaking out in his first year playing 8-man football. The All-County selection racked up mind-blowing passing and rushing numbers despite only playing a half of football in many games.

He’ll be complemented by Joiner and Welch in the passing game along with a promising addition to the corps in Christopher Staniscavage and play behind a strong offensive line with Stallings, Emerson Dollins, James Wolfe and newcomer Joseph Grantham.

The biggest question will be who totes the rock in the backfield with Caeleb Austin gone. While Swords can absolutely play a primary role in the running game, the Lightning will split snaps between Cloud, Welch and Eli Black, and they’ll need to play a key role for the Lightning to succeed.

Beyond the new faces though, there’s another big change coming Evangel’s way on the field.

Don’t rub your eyes if you see 11 players take the field for the Lightning this year as they will play multiple 11-man games in addition to their slate of ACSC 8-man matchups.

After making the trip north to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to face North Carolina’s Arendell Parrott Academy, Evangel will start the year two three 11-man games against Abbeville Christian in Larry Simmons Stadium and Banks before facing Franklin Christian and Chambers later in the season at 11-man.

Those games mean the Lightning will need to keep their depth at a solid level, especially since they will field more two-way players than they did last year and will face multiple 11-man playoff sides.

However, the important part of the season will once again be 8-man football, a format that Evangel has historically dominated. The 11-man games will allow more players to see the field and get live reps ahead of ACSC conference play, which can only help this year’s newcomers.

 

Prediction: 8-2. Evangel’s 33-game win streak will almost surely come to an end this season. A brutal non-conference schedule against two of the best teams in the AISA in Banks and Chambers combined with a pair of tough trips to Tennessee will likely yield at least one loss. The big question is how will the team handle the end of the streak?

Smith has done a good job of keeping the win streak from becoming part of the internal narrative, but the fact remains that while this team has faced plenty of adversity in their last two undefeated seasons, they haven’t lost since October 2021.

However, if the Lightning respond well and play their style of football down the stretch in 8-man play, I don’t see many ways that they can be stopped. Even with a running back committee, Swords is a strong enough runner to carry them on the ground and having the vast majority of receivers back will help the passing game go on without much of a hitch.

Defensive questions remain with so many key spots to replace, but there aren’t many teams in the state that reload better than the Lightning. Even if they get less stops than last season, it should be enough to keep many of the offenses they face at bay, especially with how much Evangel can put up on offense.

The bottom line is until someone can prove they can stop the Lighting in either the ACSC or NHSA, you can consider them a favorite for both titles. It’s been two years since that happened in the ACSC and six years in the national playoffs, and this year’s team is talented enough to continue both streaks.