- December 22, 2024
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The walk over to the end zone for the post-game meeting after Foundation Academy’s 35-0 loss to Victory Christian was a long one for Lions players and coaches on Friday night.
Nothing seemed to go the Lions way, but despite the loss in the Class 2A, Region 2 final to a familiar team Friday, Nov. 22, head coach Brad Lord had nothing to say but good things to his guys.
After all, the Lions had finished with a school record in wins, had — earlier in the season — beat The First Academy for the first time in school history and made it to their first ever region final.
“I know you’re down right now, but tomorrow wake up and be happy,” said Lord, who’s Lions are now 1-10 against the Storm. “You guys had a great season at 9-3 — and we had a lot of injuries.
“Listen, that team is the best football team we have ever played,” he said. “I’m telling you I have been in all the battles at Foundation, and that is the best Victory team we have ever played. You’re a really good team that got beat by a better team.”
But in this game nothing seemed to go right for the Lions (9-3), and that’s mainly because Victory Christian (10-1) were just that good.
Running back Cornelius Shaw dominated on the ground, as he ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Jeremiah Byrd added on three touchdowns and 131-rushing yards himself.
Meanwhile, on the defense, the Lions’ usual offensive weapons in quarterback Henry Austand and Danny Stutsman were all but shut out — in Stutsman’s case he had no catches on the night. Then there was the issue of how dominant the Victory Christian defense was, as the Storm sacked Austad on six separate occasions — four of which were by Dytreyveon Riley.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” Lord said. “We had some opportunities in the beginning that we didn't take advantage of. We’re banged up… and that team outclassed us in every aspect of the game. It’s not that we played bad — it’s that they played great.”
“I know you’re down right now, but tomorrow wake up and be happy. You guys had a great season at 9-3."
— Brad Lord, Foundation Academy head coach
The game started out with a bang from the Storm, as Shaw exploded for a 49-yard touchdown with 9:19 left in the first quarter. The extra point pushed the Storm’s lead to 7-0 by the time people had gotten comfortable in their seats.
Not three minutes later Shaw would once again punch Foundation’s defense in the mouth, this time with a 53-yard touchdown run. Joel McGrath would slip on the ensuing extra point, holding the score at 13-0.
The Lions would get their first shot at decent field position on the following drive when Dharius Seth Daniels returned the ball up to the 50, but it would all be for not after a holding call brought it back. Foundation’s drive would fizzle out quickly after that.
The best drive of the night would come later in the second quarter, when the Lions managed to finally get into the Storm’s red zone.
After Michael Lemieux-Bott recovered a fumble, the Lions drove down the field deep into Storm territory. Following a big third-down conversion at the 15-yard line, Stutsman ran out of the wildcat for what seemed to be a Lions’ touchdown, but the score was called back due to an illegal motion. The proceeding 28-yard field goal — which came after a sack of Austad — was missed by Mykal Chan with 6:21 left in the first half.
Over the next six minutes and 21 seconds, the Storm added on two more touchdowns — one on a 32-yard touchdown from Byrd to Preston Smith and a 35-yard run from Byrd — to go into the half up 27-0.
The Storm’s final touchdown of the night — a 31-yard run by Byrd — came halfway through the third quarter, and would induce a running clock. The score would hold up until the end.
It’s a tough way to end the year, but there is a ton to take away from this season, Lord said. And a big part of the year’s success came because of the team’s seniors, who Lord praised in the post-game speech — alongside the other coaches and parents.
“I want to thank each and every one of you (seniors), and I hope you learned as much from us, as we did from you,” Lord said. “I love you guys, you stuck together and you fought injuries all year and made it to the regional championship.”
