Calvary Christian football team off to 2-0 start after beating University School
A hard-fought game between Calvary Christian Academy and NSU University went down to the wire on Thursday night.
Ultimately, Calvary Christian prevailed, 21-18 at U-School, boosted by two first-half touchdown passes from Jackson Stroud to Troy Ganter.
In the closing minutes, the Eagles recovered an onside kick and were able to run out the final 2:06 on the clock, ending a well-played, physical contest.
That’s how the night was summed up.
But a turning point actually came minutes into the first quarter.
From a strategic standpoint, the game dramatically shifted on the very first drive of the game. It came when the Sharks were forced to punt on the first possession.
The Sharks punter/kicker suffered a left leg injury on a non-contact play and didn’t return.
Without its kicker, NSU attempted 2-point conversions on all three of its touchdowns, and didn’t convert any.
Calvary Christian’s kicker, Andres Ortiz, meanwhile, made all three of his PAT tries, which proved to be the difference.
With the win, the Eagles are now 2-0, following up an impressive 42-11 showing in their opener against Belen.
The Sharks fell to 1-2, after beating Lakeland Christian, 30-27, last week.
Calvary’s defense, especially, was effective. On the opening drive, Edan Richardson recorded a sack on Sharks’ quarterback Jayden Miller on second down.
But later in the first quarter, it was Miller who was able to thread the needle, connecting with Carlos Avila-Lopez on an 87-yard touchdown pass.
Despite being outplayed to that point, NSU led, 6-0.
Calvary responded on its next possession.
On fourth down, Stroud hooked up with Ganter on a 27-yard scoring pass. The successful PAT made it 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Calvary controlled most of the second quarter, and built a 21-12 lead at halftime.
Pedro Estrella churned out big yardage for the Eagles, rushing for 105 yards on 10 carries in the first half.
Runs of 27 and 12 yards by Estrella gave the Eagles first-and-goal at the 1. Stroud pushed the ball over the goal line on a sneak, giving Calvary a 14-6 lead at 9:49 of the second quarter.
The Sharks struggled to consistently move the ball. Again, Richardson was all over the field. Liam Marley and others on Calvary’s defense limited NSU to one offensive touchdown in the game.
NSU also was short handed with running back Jaidyne Dixson sitting out due to an injury.
With Dixson out, Brandon Williams Jr. became the Sharks’ featured back.
NSU got back in the game after its defense stepped up late in the first half.
With Calvary at midfield, Karl Monroe returned an Eagles’ fumble 50-yards for a touchdown, closing the Sharks’ deficit to 14-12 with 1:50 left in the second quarter.
Still, that was plenty of time for Calvary to piece together a scoring drive. Stroud marched the Eagles 75 yards on eight plays for what became the deceive touchdown.
With 22 seconds left in the second quarter, Stroud found Ganter in the right corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-12 at halftime.
Early in the second half, Calvary’s offense sustained a blow when Estella was shaken up and didn’t return.
Darryn Cooper and Dylan Sokol handled a bulk of the carries in the second half.
Neither offense was able to sustain much in the final two quarters, with Calvary protecting a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The lone touchdown of the second half came as Calvary was attempting to run out the clock. Protecting a two-score lead, the Eagles coughed up the football. Charvis Hood of NSU recovered a fumble and raced 69 yards for a touchdown with 2:06 left in the game.
Again, NSU was unable to convert its 2-point conversion try.
Any realistic hopes for a Sharks’ dramatic comeback were dampened when Calvary’s Trent Gamble recovered an on-side kick. Cooper broke free for a 20-yard run, and followed that up with a five-yard run.
With the Sharks out of time outs, Calvary went into victory formation, and Stroud took a knee to end it.