North Georgia took the opening kickoff at the 22 yard line. Eleven plays later the Lions defense held on 4th down at the 32 yard line, taking over for the first time after the Falcons had the ball for almost 8 minutes. It only took Christian Heritage 3 plays to go 68 yards and a touchdown as QB Daniel Pierce connected with Mason Sikes who had gotten behind the Falcons defense. The extra point kick by Pierce was good and at 3:55 left in the first quarter Christian Heritage led 7-0.

The Falcons went 3 and out on their next possession and kick to the Lions. The Lions took over at the 19 yard line. Five plays later they punted and the Falcons took over at their own 35. Using a combination of passes and runs the Falcons moved to the Lions 35, then Tim Howard found his favorite receiver, Riley Davis, with a pass and Davis took it to the house (end zone) for a 35 yard TD. The extra point kick was blocked, leaving the Lions in the lead, 7 to 6, with 6:31 left in the 2nd quarter.

Christian Heritage went 3 plays and then punted to the Falcons 47. Howard went to work again as he connected on 5 passes, the last going 8 yards to Elijah Hiers for the score with 56 seconds left in the first half. Kicker Brett Snyder was good on the extra point kick and the Falcons had the lead at 13-7.

With less than a minute left in the half, the Lions moved the ball from the 27 all the way to the 7 yard line, however, the clock ran out before the Lions could get off another play. Halftime score: North Georgia 12 Christian Heritage 7.

The Lions took the second half kickoff, but could not get anything going and had to punt. The Falcons then ran 3 plays and had to punt which only went about 15 yards giving the Lions good field position at the 32 yard line. On the second play, Drew Lee of the Falcons recovered a Lions fumble at the 30 yard line. The Falcons marched down the field on 9 plays with a mixture of passes and runs, however, they stalled at the 30 yard line and on 4th down the Falcons lined up for a field goal. Kicker Brett Snyder then booted a 46 yard field goal to give the Falcons a 16 to 7 lead with 49 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

Both teams then traded possessions with neither team able to do much. Then the Lions took over at the 8 yard line and using the passing arm of Daniel Pierce connected on six passes, finding Ethan Turnmire for the TD of 29 yards. Daniel Pierce kick was good and the Lions were back in the game but still behind 16-14 with 3:36 left in the game.

After kicking off to the Falcons, the Lions defense bowed up and stopped the Falcons on 3 plays. The Falcons lined up to punt, but attempted a fake punt which the Lions were able to stop the Falcons short of a first down at the 43. The Lions took over and on first down, Pierce found Mason Sikes at the Falcons 11 yard line for a first down. The Falcons stopped RB Terrell Wison after a 3 yard gain, then Pierce tried a QB sneak that took it down to the 2 yard line, however, time was running down. The Lions decided to go for the win with a field goal, however, a bad snap was recovered by the Drew Lee of the Falcons, giving them the victory and the Glory For Christ Championship 16-14 over the Christian Heritage Lions.

The Falcons celebrated the thrill of being victorius while the Lions dealt with the agony of defeat after coming so close to the victory. It’s been a great season for both teams and nothing should take that joy away from either of these two team!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Christian Heritage has earned its chance to win back-to-back league titles.

The Lions defeated Dominion Christian, 56-20, in the Glory For Christ Football League semifinals on Saturday at Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs and will play the North Georgia Falcons — who beat the Georgia Force, 7-0, in the day’s other semifinal — at 2 p.m. this Saturday at Riverwood.

Coach Mike Vaden said his Lions (9-1) executed their game plan well against Dominion Christian (7-3), a team they beat 27-12 during the regular season.

“We played really hard,” Vaden said. “Offensively, we moved the ball and, defensively, we contained their speed, which was our main concern heading into the game.”

The Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run from Daniel Pierce and a 25-yard pass from Pierce to Mason Sikes. But before the period ended, Dominion Christian blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown and, after a two-point conversion run, the score was 14-8.

Christian Heritage pulled away in the second quarter with three scores of 2 or fewer yards from Terrell Wilson, Pierce and Ethan Turnmire.

Pierce’s scoring run came on a 98-yard drive after a goal-line stand by the Lions defense.

“It seems like after Pierce’s score,” said Vaden, “that really took the life out of them.”

The Lions then scored twice in the third quarter on a 9-yard run for Pierce and a 23-yard pass from Pierce to Sikes, while Turnmire added a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Dominion scored on a 5-yard pass in the third and a 27-yard run in the fourth.

Lions kicker Nick Jang was 6-for-6 on extra point kicks before leaving the game with an ankle sprain suffered while playing defensive back. In Jang’s absence, Cody Stansell converted two extra-point kicks.

Vaden said he expects Jang will be available to kick in next week’s game against the Falcons.

Last season, the Lions went 12-0 and won the league title with a 33-7 victory against the Crown Knights. In order for Christian Heritage to defend its title, the Lions must beat the Falcons (9-2), who handed them their only loss of the season, 13-6, last month in Dalton.

Vaden is hoping for better circumstances and a different outcome in the rematch.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We’re praying not to have to play in the mud like we did the last game. The key to us next week will be making sure we don’t turn the ball over and taking advantage of every opportunity given to us.”

Lions stroll into playoff semifinals
from Dalton Daily Citizen staff reports
Daniel Pierce scored twice on returns and threw a touchdown pass to Mason Sikes, leading the Christian Heritage Lions to a 56-8 rout of the Bartow Generals in the first round of the Glory for Christ Football League postseason playoffs. The Lions (8-1) advance to the semifinals against the Dominion Christian Knights. Christian Heritage is the defending league champion, having won 12 consecutive games for the 2008 title. Lions coach Mike Vaden said after Friday’s game. “We do know we’ll be in for a real battle next week. Christian Heritage defeated Dominion Christian, 27-12, on Sept. 4. After Terrell Wilson got the Lions’ scoring started on a 19-yard run in the first quarter, Pierce returned a punt 58 yards for his first touchdown of the game. The extra point failed and the Lions led, 13-0. Still in the first quarter, Pierce intercepted a Bartow pass and galloped 85 yards for a touchdown. Nick Jang’s extra point gave the Lions a 20-0 advantage. In the second quarter, Pierce connected with Mason Sikes on a 28-yard touchdown strike, and Pierce ran for a two-point conversion and a 28-0 lead. Sikes added a 30-yard scoring run on a reverse and Jang’s extra point made it 35-0. Wilson scored again in the fourth quarter on a 45-yard run, Ethan Turnmire scored on a 4-yard scamper and Austin Lowe capped the Lions’ scoring with a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter. “I was real pleased with our defense tonight,” Vaden said. “We faced a big team, but our kids did an outstanding job. It was our best hitting in the second half of the season.” ]

Christian Heritage 48 Cumberland Christian Patriots 0

Christian Heritage blasts Horizon Christian 59-14

North Georgia 13 Christian Heritage 6

In the battle of unbeaten GFC teams, the North Georgia Falcons (5-0 GFC, 6-1 overall) defeated the Christian Heritage Lions (5-1, 6-1 overall) 13-6, ending the Lions’ 18-game winning streak. With lightning and rain delaying the game for 2 hours, it almost seemed like this game wasn’t going to be played. The Falcons scored on the first possession against the Lions, using 13 plays to go 75 yards. Brian Ross scored the touchdown, running 24 yards with 3:06 left in the first quarter. After a missed extra point, the Falcons had a 6-0 lead. On the opening drive of the second half, North Georgia had a 12-play drive that went 67 yards with Ross again scoring from the 6 yard line. This extended the Falcons lead to 13-0 when Brett Snyder was good on the extra point kick. The Falcons used up almost 7 minutes of the clock with this drive. The Falcon’s tenacious defense kept the Lions’ offense in check all night. Late in the third quarter, the Falcons were forced to punt and Daniel Pierce was able to pick up the ball and elude several tacklers on his way to a 52 yard touchdown. The Lions were unsuccessful on the extra point attempt and the Falcons were able to hold on for the victory.

GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct 9) : Christian Heritage vs North Georgia
By Larry Fleming larryfleming@daltoncitizen.com

Christian Heritage has played two of the three best teams in the Glory for Christ football league, and beaten them both. The third team in that trifecta — the North Georgia Falcons — will travel to Dalton on Friday to challenge the Lions (6-0 overall, 5-0 GFC), who have won 18 straight games over the past two seasons. The Falcons have a 5-1 overall record and are 4-0 in league play. “Traditionally, their one of the top powers in the league,” Lions coach Mike Vaden said Wednesday. “They’ve been in the playoffs each of the three years we’ve been in the league. And they’re one of the founding teams of the league.” However, each time the Lions have been challenged this season by title contenders, they’ve came out on top. They beat Dominion Christian, 27-12, and the Georgia Force, 16-14 in previous regular-season showdowns. Now, it’s time to battle the Falcons. “It’s always a competitive game,” Vaden said. “We have beaten them twice at their place and two years ago they came up here and beat us in the final 17 seconds of the game. We’ll have to play 48 minutes of football to compete with these guys.” That’s exactly what the Lions have been doing all season. The offense, directed by coordinator Danny Carter, has averaged 41.5 points per game and the defense is allowing just 8.0 points an outing. In six games, the Lions have held three opponents to eight points or less, with two shutouts in that stretch. “North Georgia is a very experienced team,” Vaden said. “Most of their starters on offense and defense are back from last year. Tim Howard is a fine quarterback and very effective at what he does with their offense. “And Riley Davis has done a fine job for them as a receiver and they’ve got a new kid, Brett Snyder, who has really solidified their kicking game.” Vaden said the Falcons will utilize the spread offense and sometimes shift into a two tight end I-formation set when they’re in short-yardage situations or trying to control the tempo. “They’ve got some experienced linemen who come off the ball well and push you around because of their size,” Vaden said. “We’ve had to make some adjustments defensively because of their line spreads that are designed to create lanes for the backs.” Defensively, the Falcons will use a 5-3 stack, which Vaden said has become a popular scheme in the GFC, and also a 3-5 alignment. “That 3-5 is relative new,” Vaden said. “Quite a few schools have gone to that. What we have to do is move the ball on the ground to set up our passing game. I think we can throw against them, but it’s only going to be effective if we’re running the ball.” The Lions are led by Terrell Wilson, who is the workhorse at running back on offense and middle linebacker on defense. Quarterback Daniel Pierce makes the offense go and can either run or pass effectively. Ethan Turnmire, Cody Stansell, Mason Sikes and Daniel Groce are all counted on by Vaden to keep their streak alive.

Christian Heritage 53 Holy Ground 14

Christian Heritage stayed unbeatened as they outmanned Holy Gound Academy 53-14. Leading the way was Daniel Pierce as he scored on a 67 yard interception, a 90 yard punt return and ran 5 yards for a touchdown. He also threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Mason Sikes. Sikes also scored on a 27 yard run and a 44 yard interception. Terrell Wilson anchored the Lions ground attack with touchdown runs of 27 and 12 yards. He also had a 40 yard interception for a score. Cole Deviese was able to complete a two-point conversion pass to Cody Stansell. Nick Jang kicked two extra points and Cody Stansell kicked one. Holy Ground was led by Ryan Hulvey who had a 16 yard touchdown run. He also ran for 108 yards on 18 carries. The Stallions Austin Patterson scored on a 3 yard run. The 2-point attempt was success as Dontavious Agan caught a pass from QB Lee Neuen to round out the scoring. The Christian Heritage Lions have won 17 straight games over the past two year.

CHRISTIAN HERITAGE KICKS GEORGIA FORCE 16-14 Daniel Pierce plays quarterback for Christian Heritage, but it was his foot, not his arm, that made the difference in the game. With less than two minute remaining in the game and the Lions behind 14-13, Pierce kicked a 35 yard field goal that barely made it over the goalpost to win the game 16-14 over the Georgia Force. It was a defensive battle throughout the game. In the first half, the Lions scored first to go up 7-0, but the Force answered to tie it at 7-7. The Force had a goal-line stand just before the half that kept Christian Heritage from scoring again. The Force went up 14-7 in the third quarter, but the Lions answered with a score of their own. However, the extra point kick was blocked making the score 14 to 13 in favor of the Force. Both teams had opportunities to score, but as the clock was winding down, the Lions moved the ball down the field and on fourth down decided to kick the winning field goal that made it 16-14. The Force still had time to rally and completed a long pass inside the 5 yard line, however, an illegal formation penalty nullified the catch and ended the Force’s chance of scoring.

Christian Heritage Lions 45 East Atlanta 0
By Doug Hawley (Daily Citizen Correspondent)

So much for homecoming distractions to hinder Christian Heritage’s unbeaten football team Friday night. “Homecoming’s always fun, but I was worried ahead of time about the distractions,” head coach Mike Vaden said following his team’s 45-0 rout of East Atlanta. “We played so well on offense and defense. It was one of our better games.” During the first quarter, the Lions (3-0, 4-0 in league play) raced to a 20-0 lead, built a 39-0 halftime advantage and coasted to victory in the Glory For Christ Football League encounter over the outmanned Mustangs (1-2, 1-2) as they captured their 16th straight win over a two-year period. Quarterback Daniel Pierce had a direct hand in five touchdowns — including three passing and two running. He threw two scoring tosses to Mason Sikes worth 17 and 33 yards and a 35-yarder to Daniel Groce. His touchdown runs of 6 and 7 yards produced the Lions’ first two scores. Pierce completed 6 of 8 passes for 144 yards and no interceptions. Sikes had 111 yards on four catches. “Our coaches did a good job in getting us focused,” Pierce said. “Since this is my first year to play quarterback (Pierce was a starting wide receiver and backup signal-caller a year ago), I’m continuing to get better.” Burly fullback Terrell Wilson led the rushers with 87 yards on a dozen carries. However, the 6-foot, 215-pound senior made his primary mark from his linebacking position by scooping up a Mustangs’ fumble and rambling 70 yards to score in the second quarter. “I saw that Daniel Groce (linebacker) had the quarterback stood up, and I was able to pull it out,” Wilson said. “I probably enjoy more a defensive touchdown because you don’t have that much opportunity to do so.” Cody Stansell got Christian Heritage’s final touchdown on a 35-yard run in the third quarter. Nick Jang kicked three extra points. A tenacious defense recovered three fumbles, with the work done by Ricky Gomez, Zack Anderle and Wilson. The Lions’ dominance was shown in the 375 yards of offense (231 rushing and 144 passing) to the Mustangs’ 141 (90 and 51, respectively).

CH players take down Reg Spears of the East Atlanta Mustangs

Christian Heritage Lions 61 Bartow Generals 8

Wilson rumbles in Lions victory By Jimmy Espy jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com

The Bartow Generals looked like a pretty big team coming on the field at Christian Heritage on Friday, but by halftime the visitors were flatter than the deck of an aircraft carrier. The Lions stormed to a 61-8 win. Terrell Wilson ran for 248 yards, including three touchdowns, and Ethan Turnmire added three more scores on the ground and 84 yards rushing for the Lions, who are now 3-0 in the Glory for Christ Football League. It was the team’s 15th consecutive win, including a league championship last season. “We were able to break some long runs on them and that kind of surprised me,” Lions head coach Mike Vaden said. Christian Heritage scored nine TDs, including runs of 72, 46 and 37 yards. The Lions also hit big on two TD passes, with quarterback Daniel Pierce tossing a 42-yard scoring strike to Mason Sikes and a 31-yarder to tight end Daniel Groce. “It was my first touchdown catch in my life,” said Groce, who also starts at linebacker on defense. “I was pretty nervous.” Groce, a senior, said the team’s defense played “pretty well. We worked hard this week on trying to stay low.” Hugging the ground was a good idea for the Lions defenders, particularly when Bartow’s 275-pound fullback Andrew Gifford was pounding away on one of his 16 carries. Gifford finished with 80 yards rushing and his teammates chipped in 167 more (for 255 total), but except for one long third-quarter march that ended in a TD run by Stephen Coriell, the Generals gained most of their yardage between the 30-yard lines. Christian Heritage was up 41-0 at the half, scoring four rushing TDs and two passing. They added three more rushing scores in the second half. Nick Jang hit 7-of-9 PAT kicks. “We played them last year and they ran a similar offense,” Vaden said. “They are so big we couldn’t play our regular defense. Instead, we attacked the gaps and made sure that every three plays we rotated our defensive linemen. They got fatigued.” Bartow had only 17 players dressed out and by halftime the Lions’ superior numbers and several walloping hits by the defense and special teams appeared to have the visitors ready to load up and head home. Pierce was 2 for 2 passing for 73 yards, both TDs. He also had a 2-yard TD run. Behind a dominant offensive line performance, Christian Heritage piled up 469 yards rushing. Seth Defoor had 49 yards on only four carries. Marshall Williams chipped in 64 yards before a knee injury sent him to the sidelines.

Christian Heritage Lions 27 Dominion Christian Knights 12

The Christian Heritage Lions outlasted Dominion Christian in a hard fought game at Harrision High School in Kennesaw. Ethan Turnmire opened the scoring for the Lions with an interception and return of 26 yards in the 1st quarter. Nick Jang added the PAT. In the second quarter, CHS recovered a fumble deep in Dominion territory and Terrell Wilson ended the drive with a 2 yard TD run. There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter but the play was dominated by the defense of the DC Knights who constantly thwarted the Lions offense. In the 4th quarter the Knights close the gap to 14 to 6 on a 41 yard TD pass from QB Supi Santeri to Julian Hawkins. PAT failed. Christian Heritage responded with a 38 yard touchdown drive capped by and 1 yard TD run by Terrell Wilson. Dominion recovered a CHS fumble and marched 30 yards to their 2nd score on another Santeri to Hawking pass of 6 yards. PAT failed. CHS final touchdown (27 yard TD run by Wilson, PAT by Jang) with less than 2 minutes to go in the game iced the victory.

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2008 CHRISTIAN HERITAGE LIONS

Christian Heritage 2008 Football Season You Tube Video