RCA secures seventh-straight CFA championship

Nov. 8—Russell Christian Academy's football team (6-4, 4-2) traveled to Cottondale, Alabama, on Friday to face off against Tuscaloosa Christian, and the RCA Warriors outlasted the Tuscaloosa Warriors in overtime to bring their seventh-straight Christian Football Association Eight-Man Championship back to Mississippi.

"We've been very blessed," RCA coach Tim Moore said. "I think our season went exceptional. We had some bumps in the road, but in all honesty, we persevered and we pulled together and we peaked at the right time."

The RCA Warriors found themselves down 14-0 early in the second quarter after Tuscaloosa scored two rushing touchdowns, but senior quarterback Aiden Burns tied the game at 14-14 with a short rushing touchdown and a touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Carter Simmons.

Burns and Simmons could not connect on a pass down the field in the third quarter, and a Tuscaloosa defensive back snagged the ball out of the air and returned it for a touchdown to give his team the lead. Burns tied the game at 22-22 in the fourth quarter with a short rushing touchdown and 2-point rushing conversion, and he made a leaping interception in the red zone with just over a minute to play in regulation to stop Tuscaloosa's drive and force an overtime.

Ty Jones, who served as RCA's featured running back all season, punched in a short rushing touchdown and a 2-point rushing conversion to cap RCA's first possession in overtime. Senior linebacker Matt Williams sealed the RCA victory two plays later by hauling in an interception in the corner of the end zone.

"It was kind of back-and-forth, a defensive battle. We moved the ball some, they moved the ball some," Moore said.

RCA came out on top after entering the 2023 season as the reigning CFA eight-man champion, but the Warriors were not obvious favorites to win the 2023 title at the start of the season.

Their roster returned just two starters who played last season and featured only four seniors. They also were coached by a first-year eight-man football coach in Moore, who previously had only 11-man coaching experience. Moore said he had to make some adjustments to his coaching style when he began coaching eight-man football.

"You're still blocking and tackling and kicking and catching and receiving and running the football, but there are some differences," Moore said.

RCA's 2023 season kicked off with a 62-54 overtime road victory over Cornerstone Christian before the Warriors went on to lose four of their next six games. They won their final game of the regular season against Victory Christian to secure the third seed in the playoffs. Moore said RCA was blessed and fortunate to put everything together late in the season after the team made some adjustments and ironed out some issues that plagued them early in the season.

"We came a long way, worked out a lot of the kinks," Moore said on RCA's 48-14 victory over Cornerstone Christian in the first round of the postseason. "The kids really put it together, got really focused, and our coaches did a super job of game planning and preparing for the game."

Burns immediately proved to be a force on the ground while rushing for 635 yards and eight touchdowns in RCA's first seven games, but he completed just 15 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown over that span.

Burns, who stepped into the starting quarterback role in the offseason, worked on his throwing and developed a better connection with his receivers throughout the season. His passing development began to shine through in RCA's final regular-season game when he completed six of 10 attempts for 166 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-32 win over Victory Christian, and he went on to complete 18 of 26 attempts for 274 yards and three touchdowns in RCA's two playoff games.

"It played a key role in what we were able to do," Moore said on Burns' passing development. "We were really able to diversify and be more balanced. I feel like he did a super job developing and a super job getting more familiar with the passing game and with his receivers. Our receivers did a super job in developing. They did a super job in catching more passes and coming along."

Burns leaned on Simmons (17 catches for 267 yards and five touchdowns) and sophomore receiver Kolton Frapp (six catches for 194 yards) when he needed a big play through the air this season, but RCA ran a run-heavy offensive system that allowed junior running back Jones to put up 1,349 yards and 17 touchdowns on 195 carries.

"We did a lot when it came to putting people in space, putting Ty and Aiden in a situation where they could be successful," Moore said. "We ran the read-option, and to us that was kind of the bread and butter from the spread. Then, when we got in the (I formation), we were able to kind of ground it and pound it, as you'd say, and we did a good job up front with our line. Extremely proud of them."

RCA had seven players named to the CFA All-League team this season, including Burns, Simmons, Jones, senior offensive linemen Hunter Jarman and Caleb Purvis, senior linebacker Matt Williams and sophomore defensive end Decker McKenzie. Moore will need to replace Burns, Jarman, Purvis and Williams this offseason, but the coach said his seniors helped keep the roster together and pointed in the right direction in his one season with them.

"You always count on your senior leadership," Moore said. "In the final game we were in, Aiden played a super game for us on both sides of the football. Our offensive front really had to go to work and bear down for us to come back and put things together and keep us in the game and bring us out on top. Matt Williams made a game-ending interception in the end zone against Tuscaloosa Christian to seal the deal. What can you say, they stepped up, and that's what we needed them to do, and that's what you expect of your seniors."

The Warriors will look to compete for an eighth-straight championship next season by getting in the weight room this offseason to get bigger, stronger and faster. Moore said he has a strong group of junior varsity players that he is pleased to move up, but every RCA player needs to continue to develop their skills and athleticism in the offseason.

"We've got to continue to grow our guys, get them ready physically and mentally to play football, and pick up the gauntlet and step up and go get it, just like we did this year," Moore said.

Contact Christian Knox on Twitter @TheChrisKnox