Jacksonville Fl- Building a sports program takes lot’s of preperation and patience in order to propser. Impact Christian Academy is used to these types of alliterations and not just on Sunday’s. Not only have they grown into one of the largest ministries in Northeast Florida, they’ve also become a perrinial powerhouse in basketball after the hiring of head coach Benjamin Jones. So if there’s one program that knows how to build a successful program, it’s Bishop George and April Davis of Impact Christian Academy. Now they’ve turned their attention toward football, hiring championship coach Bobby Ramsay. Ramsay is charged with building a successful football program, and on Friday night under the lights at Providence, the patience phase began.
As a person who’s coached two heisman trophy winners in Derrick Henry and Carson Beck, Ramsay has an eye for developing talent. With Impact, he and his staff must develop from the ground up and one position they’re doing that with is quarterback.
Eight grader Hans Price III was walking through the hallways at Impact and didn’t play 8-man football at the school previously. So Ramsay asked him to come try out for team. Afterall, Price had previously played youth football at M.O.T ( Mentors of Tomorrow). On Friday Price started for Lions, standing in the pocket under pressure and running the offense.
Price completed his longest pass to his most athletic player on the team, 2024 wide receiver Andres DeVargas. DeVargas is an example of an athlete that came over from another school for an opprtunity to showcase his talnet.
Private school athletes that don’t have football as a sport are also attracting kids to Impact. Athlete’s like 2024 Tight End/ Defenseive End Tristan Kelly. Kelly is a 6’1 sophomore who has looked good in practice. He and his temamtes tackled well on defense. They’ll need athletes like this to increase the numbers on their roster.
Finally, Impact will need leadership on the team. This attribute comes in the form of seniors who show heart on the field regardless of size or speed. Senior Leon Gamble posseses that leadership, as he started at wide receiver, corner and kick returner for his team.
There were several mistakes made by the team in their first fall live action, but that’s to be expected. How they come into their own will determine how they grow as a team and as a program. A part of that growth was realized when their teammate was injured late in their second game of the night versus Providence. The players all came out to wish him well as he was taken off the field via stretcher suffering an apparent leg injury.
Impact lost both contests against Bradford and Providence Friday night, but it wasn’t about wins and losses in their preseason match. It was about support, development and growth. They got the right staff, and are getting the right players to build for years to come. Now it’s a matter of supporting them, beginning next week versus Harvest.
Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 8/267:00p | Harvest Community (Jacksonville, FL)Location: Impact Christian Academy | Preview Game |
| 9/27:00p | Riverside Christian (Trenton, FL)Location: Impact Christian Academy | Preview Game |
| 9/167:30p | @ Keystone Heights (Keystone Heights, FL)Location: Keystone Heights High School | Preview Game |
| 9/307:00p | @ Hollis Christian Academy (Jacksonville, FL)Game Details: Homecoming | Preview Game |
| 10/77:00p | @ Beachside (St. Johns, FL)Location: Beachside High School | Preview Game |
| 10/146:00p | Young Kids In Motion (Jacksonville, FL)Game Details: White on white | Preview Game |
| 10/216:30p | @ Wolfson (Jacksonville, FL)Location: Wolfson High School | Preview Game |
| 10/277:00p | @ St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine, FL)Location: St. Joseph Academy | Preview Game |
| 11/47:00p | @ North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville, FL)Location: North Florida Educational Institute | Preview Game |
