Russell Christian Academy Warriors

In recent years, Russell Christian Academy has been defined by state championships, having won five Alabama Christian Education Association eight-man football titles in as many seasons.

It’s doubtful the coaches and players will abandon another title as their ultimate goal, but early on this fall, RCA will be defined by new roles and new faces.

The Warriors lost several key players from last year’s team to graduation, such as quarterback Micah Taylor, running back/defensive end Duke Moore, receiver/defensive end Ryley Reynolds and lineman Barrett Harwell. Senior John Benny Jones, best known for his ability to rack up tackles on defense, is also taking snaps under center for RCA in 2022 after backing Taylor up at quarterback for two years.

“He’s tough enough and has enough grit to where, if the pass isn’t open, he’ll tuck it and run,” RCA head coach Andy Braddock said. “He’ll get me positive yards no matter what.”

Jones isn’t entirely unfamiliar with quarterback, having also played the position in middle school, but it’s his first year to start under center. In addition, Braddock said there are four players starting on offense and defense who hadn’t started a varsity game before RCA’s season opener Aug. 19 at Tuscaloosa Christian, a 26-12 Warriors win.

Several key returners include seniors receivers Gabe Brinson — who had 209 yards and three touchdowns in RCA’s opener against Tuscaloosa Christian — and Kam Darden, who was named Most Valuable Player in last year’s ACEA eight-man state title contest after tallying 173 receiving yards in that game. Junior Aiden Burns returns at receiver and defensive back as well.

“Those are also three key defensive players for us,” said Braddock.

Junior Matthew Williams will get carries at running back, and he started the season with 67 yards on seven rushes for RCA at Tuscaloosa Christian.

“He’s never started,” Braddock said. “He did a good job (Aug. 21 against Tuscaloosa Christian), it’s just going to take a couple of games for him to start seeing green.”

On defense, Jones will once against be relied upon not just to make tackles, but to act as a coach on the field as well.

“He’s like a conductor in an orchestra,” Braddock said of Jones. “He’s great at recognizing formations and the plays (opposing teams) run out of those formations. He’s invaluable on defense and has been for some time.”

Fortunately for RCA, Jones isn’t the only defender who’s capable of making plays. Senior linebacker Seth Garrett had 10 tackles in the Warriors’ opener, and senior Dennis Childress finished with nine tackles, while Noah Harbour chipped in with nine tackles — two for loss — and Jace Wiggins had six tackles.

“For Jace, it’s his first time to play football,” Braddock said. “He’s been playing baseball for us, and he did well. We had several guys other than John Benny who had nine to 10 tackles.”

There’s no replacing the experience lost from last year’s seniors, but Braddock said he’s eager to see what the newer players can do once they get more varsity games under their belts.

“We knocked the cobwebs off (against Tuscaloosa Christian),” Braddock said. “After looking at the film, there were a lot of things I was pleased with and several things to clean up, and if we can clean those things up, we’ll be competitive.”