SPRINGFIELD — There is no faster way to build credibility than championships.
Head Coach: Rian Bess
2015 Record: 8-4
Key players: Haaken Friend (WR/LB), Josh Street (WR/DB), Bryant Taylor (QB)
Lighthouse Christian captured back-to-back Homeschool National Championships in 2013 and 2014 while falling two points shy of a three-peat last season. Through the work of a talented class, there is a new standard in the Chargers program.
"It’s been a blessing for sure,” head coach Rian Bess said. "The boys know it’s not us just showing up and having fun out here. There are high expectations every year for what we’re trying to do.”
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There is a glaring hole in the 2016 squad: Ben Friend. The two-way stud produced a mountain of Lighthouse Christian’s offense, accounting for 2,727 total yards and 38 touchdowns. That was over half of the Chargers’ total yards from scrimmage.
Defensively, he picked off four passes and raced up 45 tackles.
Bess knows the task at hand to make up this output, but said it’s been neat to see his players chomping at the bit to take their shot.
"It’s hard because, of course, you’re not going to have that guy every year. You’ve then got to find ways that you can move the ball. In the homeschool world, we’re not given 100 boys every year to pick from. A lot of times, we have to decide how we can be successful with what we’ve been given.”
What the Chargers do have is Friend’s younger brother, Haaken, a 6-foot-6 wide receiver and linebacker. He is easy to spot on the field as a matchup problem and used his length to catch 36 balls for 680 yards and five touchdowns a year ago.
Bess expects him to move around and line up wherever may be necessary.
"He’s a good enough athlete and understands that game to where we can put him at a lot of different spots.”
Senior Josh Street looks to be another prime target at receiver who will double as a defensive back.
They will have a familiar face throwing to him as senior Bryant Taylor returns at quarterback. He threw for 17 touchdowns and 1,922 yards while completed 55 percent of his passes in 2015. He also rushed for 434 yards and seven more scores.
The Chargers could be forced to go to the air more this year, and Bess believes his signal caller is up to the challenge.
"He’s got a good head and does a good job of looking at all his reads. He runs the ball well, too, and is another good leader."
In their quest to reach a fourth straight national title game, the theme for the 2016 season is to “be a servant”.
“If you’re a senior, you should be serving the younger boys. The younger guys should be serving the other guys too. We as coaches are trying to show them a servant heart. Someday, they’re going to have kids, a wife, maybe, and we want them to serve them as well. We see this as a ministry where we can teach these boys how to do that.”
Lighthouse Christian travels to East Newton to open the season on Aug. 19.
