Friday night lights are coming to Calvary Christian School this fall in the form of a brand new football team—the first in school history. Calvary headmaster Len McWilliams hired Brian Osborne away from Brookstone to serve as the school’s athletic director and inaugural head football coach.
“Not many coaches can say they’ve had the opportunity to start a football program from scratch,” said Osborne. “It feels tremendous to have that honor. It’s an opportunity that I’ve been working for.”
Osborne worked as an assistant football coach at Brookstone for eight years where he studied and learned from head coach Blair Harrison. He served as the Cougars defensive coordinator for three seasons.
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| The Calvary Knights prepare for their inaugural football season in 2011. |
Osborne said he plans on running the same offense as Brookstone at Calvary—the Wing T—which relies heavily on the running game. “We are going to be running the ball most of the time and throw a pass when they are not looking for it,” he said.
The team had 31 players participate in spring practice, which mainly consisted of teaching the fundamentals of football and practicing proper technique. More than 20 Calvary players are playing football for the very first time.
At the first day of spring practice, Osborne and his seven assistant coaches put the players through several drills and taught them the proper football stance. When the head coach told a group of players to go forward on “hut one,” one player raised his hand and said, “Coach, what is hut one?”
There have been other lighthearted moments, too, according to Osborne, who said he embraced the opportunity to shape and mold his players.
“We don’t have any bad techniques to get them out of because they don’t have any techniques,” said Osborne. “And that’s a great thing. We’ve been starting out with the basic fundamentals—what steps to take, and proper placement of head and shoulders on tackling.”
The current Calvary roster consists of 10 seniors, five juniors, 11 sophomores, and five freshmen. Osborne said senior Steven Thomas (6’1/195), a star basketball and baseball player, will most likely see a lot of playing time at fullback and linebacker. “He is one of the better athletes at Calvary,” said the coach.
Senior Adam Nantz will anchor the offensive line. “He is one of the most enthusiastic players on the team,” said Osborne. “He has been in my office a lot just wanting to talk football.”
Another senior, Joseph Webb, has stood out in practice. “He is picking up things real quick. He’s smart. I think he can play multiple positions for us,” said Osborne.
Calvary Christian will compete in the Independent Christian Schools of Georgia and Alabama Athletic Association (ICSGA). The Knights will play an 8-game schedule with six games on the road, mostly in the Atlanta area. “We are going to travel some,” said Osborne. “One of the things about being a start-up program is not many teams want to ride down to Columbus.”
Calvary’s first game is Aug. 26 at Loganville Christian Academy in Loganville, Ga. The school’s first home game is Sept. 9 vs. defending state champion Covenant Christian Academy. The Knights will play their two home games in 2011 at Britt David Park.
The last four games on the Calvary schedule are all region games. Osborne said the Knights play in a region with five schools where four teams make the playoffs. One win in the region will put Calvary in the playoffs. “That’s a big goal for us,” said the coach.
Osborne, who played high school football at Brookstone and college ball at Rhodes, said there has been a constant buzz of excitement surrounding the Calvary football program. He said people constantly ask him, “How is football going?” His standard reply: “The guys look great out there.”
A Columbus native, Osborne said it will take time to build and grow the football program at Calvary, and admitted the team may struggle in its first season.
“I want to go out and win a championship in the first year, but that’s probably not realistic,” said Osborne. “But we are going to start building for the future. We just want to get out there and play football. Our ultimate goal in the future is to join the GHSA so we can start playing Brookstone and Pacelli and cut down on travel. We think that would be a great rivalry, if we can play those two schools.”
BY JOHN CARROLL
Number Name Grade Position
3 Clayton Bray 12 TE/DB
4 Corey Carroll 10 RB/DB
5 Derek Bigham 12 RB/DB
7 Jeremy Walker 11 RB/DB
8 Patrick Cook 12 RB/DB
9 Adam Gray 10 QB/DB
10 Luke Giegerich 10 TE/LB
12 Steven Thomas 12 RB/LB
15 Landon Rush 9 QB/DB
18 Jacob Ammons 11 QB/DB
21 Tim Thomas 9 RB/LB
23 Cole Parker 9 RB/DB
24 Justin Moss 11 RB/DB
31 Caleb Ashburn 12 RB/DB
36 Trent Burns 10 TE/LB
50 John Greene 12 OL/LB
55 Joseph Webb 12 OL/DL
56 Noah Jenkins 10 OL/DL
57 Tyler Jones 12 OL/DL
60 Jason Fowler 11 OL/DL
63 Chase Womble 9 OL/DL
65 Dylan Tumlin 11 OL/DL
66 Adam Nance 12 OL/DL
71 Jacob Struecker 10 OL/LB
74 Clayton Barefield 10 OL/DL
75 Aaron Struecker 12 OL/DL
77 Will Buck 11 OL/DL
82 Andrew Walsh 10 TE/LB
89 Joshua Mixon 10 TE/LB
Head Coach: Brian Osborne
Assistant Coaches: Robb Riddell, Floyd Clements, Richie Ashburn, David Spitzmiller, Jason Robertson, Dillon Bigham, Brandon Walker 
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