Evangel football returns with 8-man football
Evangel Christian coach Andy Whatley cut his teeth on his profession with 8-man football at Lighthouse. He returns to the version again this fall. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Evangel Christian football Andy Whatley was encouraged after fielding a talented junior varsity team last year.
The Lions had canceled their 2019 varsity football games because of a lack of players, causing Whatley to focus on his middle school players and rebuild his program through a junior high schedule. The 2020 season was going to be crucial, Whatley reasoned.
“Coming out of the junior high season, we had a good nucleus,” Whatley said. “So we made a decision and signed contracts, treated our football field, sent our helmets off to be painted. We were definitely on board and ready to go. That was December, January, February.
“I don’t have to tell you what happened next.”
The coronavirus pandemic, whose effects are still rippling through school systems, particularly at the private school level, dealt Evangel’s football program a devastating setback. The Lions generally add at least a half-dozen players over the summer as parents look for educational options. This summer, Whatley has noticed a difference.
“I know how many people call me, stop by, show interest,” Whatley said. “And we have a few, but it’s definitely lower than usual. And my wife is on the other side of things. She is the home-school director at our school and she’s getting more calls than usual.
“Off of that (junior high) team, we lost kids because parents are going to home-school them. The virus is the cause of most of that. That’s when we said we can’t field an 11-man team so we’re going to try eight-man.”
The football program will drop out of the Alabama Independent School Association for the next two years, signing a two-year deal to participate in the Alabama Christian Education Association’s Christian Football Association (CFA), an eight-man football league that includes New Life Christian Academy in Millbrook.
Whatley is familiar with the league. His first job as a head coach was at Lighthouse Christian in south Montgomery before joining the AISA at South Montgomery County Academy in Grady.
“I’ve coached in that league in 2006-08, over at Lighthouse,” Whatley said. “I left there and went to SMCA and then they closed the (Lighthouse) program after I left. So there are two or three coaches and the same directors over it.”
Evangel put together a nine-game schedule, playing seven conference rivals and adding two more teams from other eight-man associations.
The Lions open the season at home on Aug. 21 against Ezekiel Academy before playing the first of seven CFA games on Aug. 28 at Tabernacle in Gardendale. Evangel will then travel to Columbus, Miss., on Sept. 4 to play Victory Christian, returning home to face New Life on Sept. 11, followed by fellow AISA member Russell Christian of Meridian, Miss., on Sept. 18.
The Lions close out the conference slate with road games on Sept. 25 at Jacksonville Christian and on Oct. 16 in Rainsville against Cornerstone Christian before returning home for an Oct. 23 game with Tuscaloosa Christian. Evangel then has a non-conference game against Evangel Christian School of Alabaster on Oct. 30.
Eight-man football has different rules and can be played on smaller fields, but the Lions will continue to play home games on their regulation-size field in back of the school as Whatley breaks in his 13 players on the adjustments.
“I’m doing that real gradual,” he said. “I’ve taken every formation that we have and the plays are still called the same way. There are only a couple of things that won’t apply. And I’m talking offense. Defense is a whole other monster. It’s tough for a defensive coach.”
While Evangel will be an eight-man team in 2020 and 2021, Whatley doesn’t hesitate when asked his plans for the 2022 season.
“I would rather be in AISA Class AAA, as strong as I could have been,” Whatley said. “I want our basketball, our baseball, our football to be as strong as it can. I don’t want to sit back. But we can’t answer that until we see how this goes. I want to keep going forward, I’ve always wanted to, and we’ve gone backward.”
AISA executive director Michael McLendon isn’t surprised that one of his organization’s teams fell victim to COVID-19. There may be more, he suspects.
“Not even from an illness standpoint, but from an economic impact standpoint, what has been the economic impact on the families of these kids that are attending these small schools,” he said. “What is their enrollment going to look like?
“There is always one out there that surprises you, that you don’t know is struggling. A lot of them, because the way things are set up this summer, may not have all their kids out for summer workouts. They may not know until the first day of practice. And there may be some parents that say they don’t want their children out there.”