Maryland Christian football brings home national title
Maryland Christian’s football team wasted little time asserting itself at the National Homeschool Football Association’s national championship last week as the Saints went up 26-0 in the first quarter of their opening game and 28-0 by halftime of the final.
The quick starts helped the Saints, a team of home-schooled students based in Harford County, defeat defending national champion Lighthouse Christian from Missouri, 38-6 in Thursday’s semifinal, and undefeated North Georgia, 35-2 in Saturday’s title game. Not only did the Saints emerge with the national championship, but they finished the season with a 13-0 record.
“It was actually a dream at the beginning of the season to win the national championship,” junior quarterback Christian DiPaola said, “but we weren’t sure we could do it. Our goal was to win the championship. We weren’t worried about being undefeated but it all worked out that way. It was very special for the seniors.”
In the two games played in Panama City Beach, Fla., DiPaola threw for nine touchdowns and wide receiver Jed Yousefi caught seven of them.
“We just went out there and executed very well,” Yousefi, a senior, said. “We all have one heartbeat. We work together very well. Everyone came together as a team and we have great coaches, so it was a really awesome feeling.”
The Saints landed nine players on the 22-man All-Tournament Team. Joining DiPaola and Yousefi were Will Carlton, Johnny Lewis, Alex Dowling, Brian Wilt, Caleb Gordon, Austin Lee and Evan Chase.
One key to winning the national title was bouncing back to play the championship game just two days after the semifinal – an extremely quick turnaround for football players.
“I’m pretty sore right now,” Yousefi said Sunday on the ride home from Florida. “It was very tiring and after running so much and getting hit, a body can only take so much, but we did what we had to do.”
The Saints emptied the ice machine at their hotel, especially between games when coach Tony DiPaola made sure they rested as much as possible. The Saints had actually played three games in seven days, including their Mid-Atlantic Christian Conference championship game the previous Saturday.
Still, bringing home the huge team trophy and all the individual accolades was plenty reward for the Saints and the entourage of parents and cheerleaders who made the trip. Many of them plan to go back next year when DiPaola said they’ve been urged by the other four teams in the tournament to come back to defend their title.
“It was just awesome, the whole thing,” Tony DiPaola said. “They were really tired, but they were all ecstatic – the players, the parents, everybody. To win a national championship at any level is just something that few players get to experience. This was the icing. We said let’s go get the cake at the MACC championship and then get the icing at the national championship.”
Comments
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Posted by: bob | November 22, 2010 12:50 PM
TO GOD BE THE GLORY !!!!
Posted by: Michelle Harris | November 22, 2010 3:57 PM