Submitted photo / Robert Senn Studio The 2024 Valley Christian football team.

YOUNGSTOWN — With a strong senior laden class, there’s an opportunity for Valley Christian to rebound. Following a 10-0 regular season the year before, the Eagles posted a record of 4-6 last fall, but with plenty of experience and growing pains endured, Valley Christian eyes a big season ahead.

“We have a lot of guys back, we’re very experienced. I don’t know how veteran we are, but we’re experienced. The guys are tough guys, we’re light, but we’re fast and we’re tenacious,” coach Andy Hake said. “We have a very tenacious defense, they love playing football, they run to the ball, they’re not backing down. I have the ability to play most of my offense line on offense and give them breaks on defense.”

“We have good leaders, a lot of young guys, but they have experience. Our guys will play our butts off this year, this is going to be a fun year for us. This really is. This is a fun year, the kids are coachable.”

Finding leadership and having those on-field reps under the lights is going to play a key role.

“First year we were 8-2, then we went 10-0, and last year we were below .500, and that’s tough. We only had two seniors, and when you have two seniors, I know as a coach, we’re up against it. Just getting the experience is a big deal, because until it’s Friday night, it’s just conversation.” Hake said.

The Eagles start off their season on the road for three weeks at Malvern, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Brookfield. They’ll then kick-off Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference play at home versus Leetonia in Week 4. Other league foes on the slate include East Palestine, Wellsville, Lisbon, Southern, United and Columbiana.

“We better be playing ball right off the rip, we have to play ball every week. We have a nice small school league, it’s a Columbiana County league and we’re kind of the outsiders because we are not from the county, but I give them credit, they take the challenge of taking on good athletes from the city. It’s a good fit for us because we see community and discipline from their teams,” Hake said. “They play ball, we just have to keep working on ourselves, we can’t worry about other people, when we do that, we go in the tank. We have to worry about us getting better.”

OFFENSE

Now as a senior, Ja’Sean Lindsey is ready for one final go-around with the Eagles. One of the more skilled running backs in the Mahoning Valley, he’s already rushed for over 3,300 yards in his career, finding the end zone nine times last fall. He’s receiving Division I looks, and is a guy that can wear teams down.

“The pace of the pace is the pace of our leaders, and there’s no doubt that (Lindsey) is one of our leaders. He plays strong safety and running back, and he’s a fearless guy. He’s a good teammate and a real hitter when he plays strong safety,” Hake said. “He’s a strong guy and he’s fearless, come game, time he’s going to be a guy that we lean on.”

Junior quarterback Deion Miller (530 passing yards, five touchdowns) has taken leaps in the offseason, and is someone that Hake feels the team can build around.

“I think Deion has only played football a few years, but he was coachable in the offseason to want to get better, and he’s worked at it. Last year he played quarterback and receiver,” Hake said. “Deion made some great plays last year.”

There’s plenty of skill that can be rotated out between wide receiver and running back, with Jeffery Lampkin and Michael Cobb-Pippens at running back to assist Lindsey.

Alfred Coward, Geordan Taylor (290 yards on 10 receptions and three touchdowns), Jerrell Miles and Ahmire Dixon help provide targets for Miller.

One of the other strengths of Valley Christian will be their offensive line that returns nearly all of their on-field experience from last fall. It’s a group that includes seniors Jymier Burrage, Ja’Juan Lindsey, Kyle Koney Jr., Billy Kern and Jermany Johnson.

“We have to play both ways, it’s ironman football, my luxury I have is that I can play my line on the offensive line, and try to keep them intact and then send some of these linebackers down on the line.” Hake said.

DEFENSE

Flipping over to the defensive line, names such as Jordan Harrison, Avery Floyd will complement Jackson Bragg (47 tackles, nine for a loss, and 4.5 sacks), and Lampkin (28 tackles, two interceptions) on the defensive line.

“We have some seniors, but we have some guys that are younger guys and they’re playing their apple off,” Hake said. “Losing a couple of games like we did tight last year in the fourth quarter, it makes you hungry, like we need to play a certain way now.”

Miles, Dixon, and Lindsey help man down the secondary, a group that looks to fly to the ball and attack offenses.

“The ceiling is high with these guys, but they have to work on it. We have to be a lot better in Week 8, 9, 10. We can be a lot better here than a lot of places, but we have to have some success in order to get that kind of momentum going.” Hake said.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Harrison will anchor kicking duties with a slew of others available for punt and kickoff returns for the Eagles.