2011 Roster

# Player Name Offense Defense
1 Brian Pierce RB DB
2 Zachery Owens WR DB
3 Chris Finley WR DB
7 Trevor Brown QB DB
8 Michael McKinney TE DE
10 Evan Suddeth WR LB
11 Nick Bartley WR DB
12 Will Fischer WR DB
14 Brady Souther QB DE
16 Jakes Stokes QB DE
20 Connor Atwood TE DL
22 Austin Lowe RB DB
32 Ian Robbins WR DB
34 Jonathan Bolden FB LB
40 Spencer Robbins WR DB
45 Seth Defoor OL LB
50 Hershel Beene OL DL
52 Chris Smith OL LB
55 Harrison Kranzlein OL DL
63 Hutch Swafford OL DL
65 Evan Townsend OL LB
67 Nate Higdon OL DC
70 Derrell Christian OL DL
72 B OL DL
77 Logan Gazaway OL DL
80 Ricky Gomez OL DL
88 Logan Mashburn WR DB

CHS Athletic Overview

Christian Heritage has established a championship sports program featuring football, basketball, soccer, baseball, fastpitch softball, cheerleading, volleyball, golf and tennis. Our purpose is to glorify God. Our athletes glorify Him as they conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Just as our Lord “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52) when He was here on earth, we have designed our athletic program to help our athletes develop mentally, physically, spiritually and socially.

For information about the Lions football program, call Athletic Director Chad Woodson at 706-277-1198
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2010 CHRISTIAN HERITAGE FOOTBALL SEASON

Christian Heritage Lions
# Player Name
1 Brian Pierce
3 Marshall Williams
5 Daniel Pierce
10 Evan Suddeth
12 Ricky Gomez
16 Jake Stokes
18 Michael Land
20 Ethan Turnmire
22 Austin Lowe
25 Charlie Wilson
35 Chris Smith
36 Nick Jang
40 Luke Jones
41 Mason Sikes
45 Seth Defoor
50 Trevor Maffetone
56 Harrison Kranzlein
61 Logan Mashburn
62 Quenton Slade
63 Xavier Von Ewege
65 Caleb Swainson
70 Derrell Christian
71 Morgan Souther
72 Jordan Ray
75 Zach Anderle
76 Andrew Weaver
80 Josh Myers
81 Devin Gentry
84 Cole Deviese
85 Will Fischer

CHS Athletic Overview

2010 Christian Heritage Lions (Dalton) Won 6 Lost 3
Friday, Aug 27th Christian Heritage 21 Crown 14
Friday, Sept 3rd: Christian Heritage 30 Dominion Christian 8
Friday, Sept 10th: Christian Heritage 62 East Atlanta 7
Friday, Sept 17th: Georgia Force 13 Christian Heritage 12
Friday, Sept 24th: Christian Heritage 47 Holy Ground 6
Friday, Oct 8th: Christian Heritage 48 HSD Panthers 14
Friday, Oct 15th: North Georgia 24 Christian Heritage 20
Friday, Oct 22nd: Christian Heritage 50 Unity Christian 19
Saturday, Nov 6th Semifinals: Georgia Force 24 Christian Heritage 21

CHS tunes up for postseason
Doug Hawley
The Dalton Daily Citizen

Christian Heritage hopes Friday’s resounding 50-19 senior night conquest over visiting Unity Christian of Rome in the final game of the regular season will provide momentum for the Glory for Christ Football League playoffs.

Semifinal action comes at 3 p.m. on Nov. 6 against the Georgia Force at Jasper Middle School. The revenge-minded Lions (6-2, 4-2 GFCFL) lost to the Force in the regular season, 13-12.

“I was worried how we would respond after losing last week (to top-seeded North Georgia, 24-20), but we bounced back well against a good team,” Christian Heritage coach Mike Vaden said. “I believe that this will help us for the playoffs. We executed well offensively on some things that we had been working on. However, we had some breakdowns on defense that we must fix.”

Scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions in a battle of Lions from both sides, the host squad built a 21-0 lead.

Quarterback Daniel Pierce once more provided the primary offensive punch with a direct hand in four touchdowns, one of which went for 9 yards to younger brother Brian. Daniel Pierce also had scoring passes of 33 yards to Charlie Wilson and 41 yards to Mason Sikes. He also added a 52-yard scoring run for good measure.

The 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound senior completed 7 of 10 passes for 187 yards. On five timely runs, he added 52 yards. On defense as a safety, he was equally impressive with some vicious hits.

“This certainly should help us for the playoffs,” the elder Pierce said. “They’re a good team with good skill players. Our line blocked well. Our receivers ran good routes.”

Despite such offensive statistics, he preferred talking about his defense and his play on that side of the ball.

“I really prefer defense better,” Pierce said. “I love to hit people but not hurt them.”

Vaden likes his chances for more football after prep days.

“I believe that he can play on the next level (college),” Vaden said. “It might be more as a defensive back (even) though he has the offensive tools.”

Austin Lowe scored two touchdowns for Christian Heritage on runs of 4 and 6 yards.

Logan Harr hit paydirt on a 22-yard run. Nick Jang kicked five extra points.

A team safety came on a faulty Unity snap which went into the end zone.

Unity (1-7, 1-5) had two touchdown passes from Jackson Bishop to Anderson Krueger and Nick Finferlie.

The initial score came as offensive lineman Tyler Baker recovered a teammate’s fumble in the end zone during the second quarter that sliced the deficit to 21-6. Krueger booted a PAT.

Christian Heritage, which pounded out 216 yards rushing, was led by Harr’s 59 yards on six carries.

From the defensive side, Evan Suddeth had an interception.

“You’ve got a great football program here,” Unity coach Roy Curtiss told the home team in the postgame prayer circle involving the two squads. “Hats off to you for a great job.”

North Georgia 24 Christian Heritage 20

It was another thrilling football game where the second half saw the lead change four times and at the end of the game, the Lions had 3 chances from the 13 yard line, but couldn’t get into the end zone before the clock ran out.

The Falcons missed on a field goal early in the first quarter. Late in the first quarter, Falcon defensive tackle Josh Pack recovered the first of three fumbles at the 39 yard line. Nine plays later at the 8 minute mark of the 2nd quarter, Brett Snyder kick a 23 yard field goal to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. On their next possession, the Falcons went 80 yards in 4 plays scoring on a Michael Jefferson 45 yard run. Snyder’s extra point kick made it 10-0 Falcons with 3:40 to go in the half. Christian Heritage took the kickoff and drove 39 yards scoring on a 1 yard run by Daniel Pierce. Jang’s kick was good to make the score 10-7. The Falcons move the ball to the 32 but time ran out and it was halftime.

The Falcons took the second half kickoff and drove to the 24, but a field goal attempt was no good and the Lions took over. Eight plays later Pierce connected with Mason Sikes for a 5 yard touchdown pass. The kick was no good, but the Lions now had the lead at 13-10 with 3:57 to go in the 3rd quarter.

The Falcons responded by driving 73 yards in 14 plays using up almost 8 minutes of the game and scoring on a Michael Jefferson 5 yard run. The extra point by Snyder was good. Falcons had the lead again at 17-13 with 8 minutes to go in the game. The Lions took the kickoff and marched 59 yards in 4 plays scoring on a Pierce to Wilson pass of 25 yards. The extra point kick was good and the Lions had the lead back at 20-17 with 5:47 left in the game.

The Falcons took the kickoff and drove 78 yards in 11 plays with Jefferson again scoring from 6 yards out. This drive had a big gain of 27 yards on a Tim Howard to Brett Snyder pass that put the Falcons in scoring position. The extra point kick was good and the lead was now 24-20 in favor of the Falcons with 1:17 to go.

Christian Heritage had one last drive in them and were successful in moving the ball down the field to the 8 yard line by throwing the ball and completing 3 passes of 10, 13 and 17 yards, however, they couldn’t complete the last 3 passes from the 13 yard line and the game ended when the last pass was knocked down by the Falcon’s Riley Davis.

The Falcons had 365 total offensive yards while Christian Heritage had 262. Both teams came in averaging over 30 points a game on offense.

Force QB Matt Hardin pitches as Lions’ Chris Smith pulls him down

Georgia Force 13 Christian Heritage Lions 12
by Larry Fleming (Dalton Citizen)
Every year the Georgia Force and Christian Heritage Lions game is decided in the last minute or in overtime. This year is no different as Daniel Pierce, forced to kick after placekicker Nick Jang suffered an injury earlier in the game, barely missed a 33-yard field goal with 6.5 seconds left, and the visiting Georgia Force escaped with a thrilling 13-12 victory Friday night in a game of unbeaten teams.

Force coach Steve Riley said the kick looked a bit wide, although it had plenty of distance, from his vantage point on the sidelines. “I was sure praying it was left,” Riley said. After the miss, all the Force had to do was take a knee and walk away with their fifth straight win to start the season.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Lions (3-1, 1-1) on homecoming before a large crowd at Christian Heritage Stadium. “Games like this develop character,” Vaden said. Both teams showed true grit in the fourth quarter, answering each other’s touchdowns.

The Lions, who trailed 7-6 at halftime on Pierce’s 4-yard run at the 7:25 mark of the second quarter, forced a Force punt and methodically drove 78 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead touchdown. On second-and-seven from the 33, Pierce connected with Mason Sikes, his favorite receiver, who battled for extra yardage to the 5 before he fumbled. However, the Lions’ Charlie Wilson pounced on the ball at the 3 to keep the threat alive. On first down, Pierce gained a yard to the 2 and then freshman Austin Lowe plowed into the end zone for the go-ahead score with 3:31 left in the game. The run for a two-point conversion failed and the Lions were up 12-7.

The Force gained possession at their own 38 with 3:19 remaining after the kickoff. Nine consecutive running plays moved the Force to the Lions’ 4. With the Lions’ defense bunched up tight at the line of scrimmage, Force quarterback Matthew Hardin drifted to his right and lobbed a touchdown pass to David Harley, who made the catch while skidding on his knees in the end zone with 55.6 seconds on the clock.

On the game-clinching drive, the Force’s Tevin Austin carried seven times for 41 yards, including gainers of 20 and 16 yards. He finished with 126 yards on 18 carries, helping the Force pile up 228 rushing yards on the Lions’ proud defense.

“After that touchdown, I was thinking our defense had to tighten up,” Riley said. “They had been hurting us all night with their out-route passes.” But the Lions, who took over after the kickoff on their own 36, zipped to the Force’s 16 in six plays. Pierce hit Sikes three times for completions covering a combined 48 yards. On third-and-10, Vaden elected to kick the field goal. “That was my decision,” he said. “If we had a bad snap or fumbled it, we could cover it and try again. We were blessed just to have a chance to win that game.”

Pierce completed 15 of 25 passes for 265 yards and rushed for 36 more. Logan Harr led the Lions with 83 rushing yards on seven carries. Wilson had four catches for 77 yards as the Lions rushed for 159. Sikes caught 10 passes for 176 yards in the game after having 12 in the previous three.

Clay Mote gave the Force an early 6-0 lead on a 33-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter, and Matthew Atkerson kicked the extra point.

Christian Heritage 21 Crown 14
from the Dalton Citizen

Christian Heritage asks a lot of senior leader Daniel Pierce. He’s the quarterback, a defensive leader and the place-kicker. But his most effective play for the Lions season-opening 21-14 win over Crown came from lining Pierce up in fourth-down punt formations and asking him to do a little more.

Three times Pierce lined up on fourth down and created offense out of a set designed usually to give the ball to the other team. “It was one of the most effective plays we’ve had,” Christian Heritage coach Mike Vaden said. “Put the ball in your best athlete’s hands and good things can happen.”

Pierce also did the things he’s ordinarily expected to, kicking all three extra points and making key tackles to stop Crown from scoring. He finished with 107 yards rushing on nine carries and was 7 of 18 passing for 88 yards and two interceptions. The Lions held at 7-0 lead at halftime, but held a greater statistical advantage over the first two quarters, when Christian Heritage outgained the Knights, 218-69. Two Lions fumbles and one interception also helped the Knights stay close. Christian Heritage finished the night with five total turnovers.

“We had a poor evening trying to execute,” Vaden said. “We were our own worst enemy. We had three fumbles and two interceptions. We were very fortunate to win with that many mistakes.” Ethan Turnmire led the way in the first half with 71 yards rushing. Pierce helped keep Crown from holding the ball in the first half, gaining two first downs while lined up in punt formation on fourth downs in the first half.

The first fake kept a Lions drive going but ended on an interception. The second kept another drive alive that ended with an 10-yard touchdown run by Austin Lowe to open the scoring. Lowe ran up the middle on a fourth-and-short play. After a jump cut near the end zone, Lowe got in for the score. That drive was also aided by a 19-yard pass from Pierce to Mason Sikes.

Crown responded with a touchdown drive to halve Christian Heritage’s lead with a touchdown drive that ended on a fourth-and-goal scoring play. Christian Heritage put together a steady drive on its next possession, but had to punt back deep into Crown territory. The Knights quickly got out that hole with a quick march to near midfield by the end of the third quarter, but stalled in the opening minutes of the next quarter, punting back to the Lions. Another Christian Heritage turnover gave the ball back to the Knights. Crown regained its momentum, picking up first downs and moving the ball into the end zone.

Sikes picked up an interception in the fourth quarter. Christian Heritage’s offense sputtered again, lining up in punt formation, but Pierce spun out of pressure on a punt formation and scampered for a 19-yard gain and a first down. Sikes returned to the game to make a third-down catch from Pierce that moved the Lions to the 6. He made another catch two plays later, moving the ball inches from the goal line. Pierce ran a quarterback draw and scored, then added the conversion kick to give the Lions the 21-14 lead with just more than one minute remaining.

Force #33 Clay Mote + #47 Ethan Patterson defend against Dominion Christian

Click here to visit the Christian Heritage website

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Directions to Christian Heritage football field (1600 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Dalton:

1. 75 north from Atlanta to Exit 328
2. Take exit 328 toward GA-3/US-41 & go approx 0.3 mi
3. Turn right at S Bypass/Connector 3 SW/S US-76 & Continue to follow S Bypass/S US-76
& go approx 9.2 mi
4. Slight left at S Bypass/GA-3/US-41/S US-76 & go approx 358 ft
5. Turn left at Chatsworth Rd/GA-52/E Walnut Ave & Continue to follow GA-52/E Walnut Ave
& go approx 0.7 mi
6. Turn right at Richardson Dr & go approx 0.8 mi
7. Turn left at Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Football field will be on the left

View Larger Map

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Terrell Wilson signs “Letter of Intent”


Christian Heritage senior Terrell Wilson (above) signed a Letter of Intent to attend college and play football at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, which is in the southeastern part of the state off of I-75 just north of Knoxville, TN. The University of the Cumberlands Patriots play in the Mid-South Conference of the NAIA and have been the Conference East Champions for the past 3 years. Congratulations to Terrell as this is a great opportunity for him! We wish him well and look forward to following him during his college career.

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CHRISTIAN HERITAGE LIONS

Christian Heritage QB Daniel Pierce

QB Pierce shoulders a big load
By Larry Fleming
larryfleming@daltoncitizen.com

Daniel Pierce, a homeschool student from Cleveland, Tn., arrived at Christian Heritage School as an eighth grader having never played competitive sports. Five years later, Pierce is preparing for his senior season with the Lions’ football team and now one of the best players to put on a Christian Heritage uniform. And he’s gained enough attention from college programs — like Tennessee-Chattanooga, Shorter College in Rome and University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. — to have a legitimate chance to play at the next level as a student-athlete on scholarship. “I didn’t think much about that until last year,” Pierce said, “but it would be awesome to get a scholarship and play somewhere. Even without a scholarship, I would like to walk on and play college football. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I started playing football and found out I was OK at it.”

Pierce’s older brother, John, who also played at CHS and was instrumental, along with Daniel, in helping the Lions win the 2008 Glory for Christ Football League championship, now attends UTC. Their younger brother, Brian, will be a freshman at Christian Heritage this fall. “John being at UTC carries a little weight,” Daniel said. “It’s close to home and a nice school as well. I’d love to go there, but it really depends on the what’s the best opportunity for me.”

That’s one reason Daniel wound up at Christian Heritage. “We were looking for a place to play football,” he said. “Through some other homeschool kids in Chattanooga, my mom found out that Christian Heritage needed some players. We got dates for the tryouts and first day of workouts. We showed up and went from there.”
With John and Daniel Pierce major contributors, the Lions have captured on GFCFL title — they went 12-0 to win the 2008 championship — and appeared in the championship game on two other occasions.

Lions coach Mike Vaden has watched Daniel Pierce’s progression on the field and believes the 17-year-old two-way player has the potential to play in college. Several other area coaches agree with Vaden. “We did a 7-on-7 scrimmage with Ridgeland, Gordon Lee and Heritage-Catoosa a week or so ago and Daniel did a great job at quarterback and safety,” Vaden said in a telephone interview from Southeast Nebraska, where he’s vacationing and visiting stepsons Jordan and Nick Andrews. “The Ridgeland coach (Mark Mariakis) said he could play for them right now. When a coach at Ridgeland, with the caliber of athlete they have up there, says that, it’s a real compliment.”

Pierce also showed up well at the highly regarded quarterback camp at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. Danny Carter, the Lions’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, said more than 100 quarterbacks attended the Furman camp and Pierce came away rated No. 14. “That shows what kind of ability (Daniel) has,” Carter said. “They had kids from all over at that camp, from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee. Coach Mariakis called me the day after our 7-on-7 drills with them and said Daniel was the best quarterback on the field and in the top 3 defensive backs on the field.” Pierce also participated in the UTC camp in June.

As the Lions’ starting quarterback last season, Pierce completed 58 of 111 passes for 1,171 yards and 18 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. In the Lions’ 12-game schedule in 2009, Pierce intercepted 11 passes and was the team’s second-leading tackler behind linebacker Terrell Wilson, who signed a scholarship with Cumberlands. “The only thing Daniel doesn’t possess as an offensive player is great speed,” Carter said. “He’s got fair speed, a quick release, a strong arm and he’s a playmaker and good decision-maker on the field. “But I think potentially he’s a secondary guy or possession-type receiver in college. He has great hands and his breaking speed on defense is unbelievable. He seems to go where the football is all the time. He runs the 40 (yard) dash in about 4.8 and he’s strong and tough. “There’s no doubt in my mind he can play in college.”

Pierce, a 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound senior who turns 18 on Aug. 30, said he’s best suited to play defense in college. “I would think it would be like a defensive back,” he said. “Or maybe a slot receiver, not a wideout, and not a quarterback. I really don’t have a preference and love playing both ways. I like scoring TDs and running the ball, but I also like hitting people.”

2009 Christian Heritage Lions

Link to:

2009 Christian Heritage Football Season 10 wins and 2 losses
Christian Heritage finished the 2009 season with 10 wins and 2 losses. They lost in the GFC Championship game 16 to 14.

Aug 27th Christian Heritage 47 Paulding Panthers 0

Fri, Sept 4th Christian Heritage 27 Dominion Christian 12

Fri, Sept 11th Christian Heritage 61 Bartow Generals 8

Sat, Nov 14th GFC Championship North Georgia 16 Christian Heritage 14

#…..Players Name……..Offense….Defense</u>

1….NICK JANG……………….K/Rec…..DB

3….MARSHALL WILLIAMS……RB……..DB

5….DANIEL PIERCE………….K/QB……DB

8….EVAN SUDDETH………….Rec……..LB

12..RICKY GOMEZ……………Rec………DL

16..JOSEPH CANCELLERI…..Rec……..LB

18..MICHAEL LAND…………..Rec……..DL

20..ETHAN TURNMIRE………..RB……..LB

25..CODY STANSELL…………K/RB…..DB

36..CALEB SWAINSON……….RB………LB

40..TERRELL WILSON………..RB……..LB

41..MASON SIKES……………Rec………DB

45..SETH DEFOOR……………RB……….LB

50..TREVOR MAFFETONE…..OL……….DL

63..XAVIER VON EWEGEN….OL……….DL

70..DERRELL CHRISTIAN…..OL……….DL

71..OWEN HARGRAVES………OL……….DL

75..ZACK ANDERLE…………..OL……….DL

76..ANDREW WEAVER……….OL……….DL

78..KARSON CAMPBELL……..OL……….DL

80..DANIEL GROCE…………..Rec………LB

84..COLE DEVIESE……………Rec………DL

Christian Heritage is coming off an unbeaten season and lost quite a few players, however, QB Daniel Pierce makes the offense a dual threat and big Terrell Wilson likely will touch the ball a few times. The line is solid with Owen Hargraves, Trevor Maffetone and Xavier Von Ewegen doing the blocking. Daniel Groce and Cole Deviese will need to step up at the wide receiver positions. The Lions will be in the hunt for another Championship!

Christian Heritage Terrell Wilson leads the way for the Lions

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.

Lions defense scrimmages Falcons