Paladins Look for Fifth Win Tonight

The Fellowship Christian School varsity football team is looking to reach five wins in a season for only the third time in school history as the club enters Friday night’s game at Pace Academy.

The Paladins, who will host Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy at Paladin Field in a crossover game on Friday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m., posted a school-best 11-2 record in 2007. FCS has now recorded four victories in one season four times in school history, including this season’s 4-4 mark. The school posted a 4-6 record in 2008, finished 4-7 in 2006 and went 5-6 in 2005.

The Knights, also 4-4 overall but 3-2 in Region games, pose a tough assignment for the Paladins.

 “They are a really good football team,” FCS head coach Hunter Chadwick said about the Knights. “I told our kids to be proud of our season so far, but that it’s not over yet. We have two games to be ready for. We need to be ready for Pace. They will be a tough opponent for us.”

The keys to the contest for the Paladins, 1-4 in Region games, will be to control the ball on offense, eliminate mistakes and turn in a solid defensive performance, the coach said.

“They do everything well,” Chadwick said. “They have a great balanced offense, and they are tough on defense.”

The Paladins have posted a 1-2 all-time Region and overall record against Pace.

To control the time of possession at Pace, the Paladins will have to turn to their ground attack that has generated 1,731 yards through eight games this season. Junior running back Tyler Hart leads the Paladins with 650 yards and 107 carries, and has scored one touchdown. Senior Stephen Lantz leads the Paladins with nine touchdowns and is second with 462 yards and 62 rushes.

Senior quarterback Blais Furse, who scored three rushing touchdowns in last Friday’s 30-18 win over SACA at Paladin Field, ranks third on the club with 237 rushing yards. Sophomore fullback James Wilson ranks fourth on the Paladins with 188 yards on 43 carries, and has notched one touchdown. Sophomore running back Travis Kinney, who started the season opener at quarterback in place of the injured Furse, has collected 99 yards on 34 carries.  

Furse has completed 26-of-60 pass attempts for 407 yards, three TDs and three interceptions in seven games. Junior receiver Conor Linneen leads the Paladins with 194 receiving yards. He shared first on the squad with fellow junior Landon Kadi with nine catches apiece. Kadi has missed the past two games recovering from mono. Sophomore Hunter Bryant has made three receptions for 71 yards with a team-high two receiving touchdowns.

Linneen, a starter at defensive back, tops the squad with two interceptions, 37 solo tackles and 64 total stops. Lantz, a starter at defensive back, is second on FCS with 26 solo tackles. Senior linebacker Robert Germaine ranks second on the team with 44 total stops, while Lantz is third with 43 total tackles, Hart ranks fourth on the Paladins with 32 tackles and is first with two fumble recoveries. Senior lineman Trace Sells ranks fifth on the team with 30 tackles.

Senior kicker Bryce Wells is perfect in extra-point attempts (15-for-15) this season, and has made 3-out-of-5 field-goal attempts. Hart has made all three of his extra-point kicks.

The Knights, coming off a 30-7 loss to Holy Innocents, have played five of the same schools as Fellowship this season. Pace lost to Wesleyan 21-14, defeated King’s Ridge 22-13, downed Pinecrest 37-14 and beat Mt. Pisgah 32-14.

Tonight's kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.