Breakthrough: CCS Lions hit Interstate 81, pick up 1st varsity football victory
GRAY --- It took nearly a decade and a reboot, but Concord Christian School has finally won a varsity high school football game.
The Lions played their first varsity game since 2017 and they left the field winners, outlasting Johnson City’s Providence Academy 34-27 Friday night, Sept. 20, at Daniel Boone High School.
“There were a lot of tears in our locker room after the game, particularly from some of the older guys,” said CCS coach Steve Matthews, who was named head coach at the school after spending last season as co-head coach at Knoxville Catholic High School. “I’m just so proud of these young men after all they’ve been through.
“They’ve worked so hard and it was just a great night.”
Concord (1-0 in varsity competition in 2024) has played five games this season. The first four were junior varsity games but the Matthews and the Lions already have a winning foundation in place as the Lions were undefeated in those first four contests.
In Friday night’s game in Northeast Tennessee, Providence and CCS were tied 12-12 at halftime.
“With it being our first varsity game, we went through some growing pains and we had some nerves and we had some jitters,” said Matthews, who was the Irish’s head coach from 2013-21 and guided Catholic to state championships in 2015 and 2017. “It was tied at halftime, but I really think we played much better in the second half.
“We outscored them, 15-0, in the fourth quarter.”
The win snapped a 30-game varsity winning streak for the Lions, who hadn’t played a varsity game since 2017.
Concord fielded a varsity team in 2018 but didn’t play a game. The Lions were 0-1 as they had to forfeit a game to Friendship Christian.
Not only was it a historical victory for the Lions, it was a dramatic one.
Concord Christian’s C.J. Simpson’s 3-yard touchdown plunge with 21 seconds remaining in the contest was the game-winning score.
The Lions were able to seal their first-ever varsity win on an interception by Dawson Williford, one of three seniors on the Lions’ roster. He also played quarterback against the Knights and was responsible for running the Concord Christian offense.
“Dawson Williford basically carried our offense,” Matthews said. “He’s one of our three seniors and he had to play quarterback because we’ve had some injuries.
“I don’t have the exact stats back yet, but I know he had over 250 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns.”
When Matthews got the stats, he discovered that Williford had 307 rushing yards on 21 carries. He also threw for 88yards and came up with a 98-yard kickoff return.
While a senior carried the bulk of the offensive load for the Lions, a freshman led the way on defense.
“I’m pretty sure that Oakley Helton was our leading tackler. He’s a freshman and a linebacker and he played a great game,” Matthews said.
Emotions were running high for both teams, Both are playing limited varsity schedules in 2024, but excitement was at a fever pitch, according to Matthews.
“It was a great environment. It was in a big stadium and the crowd was big on both sides,” he said.
The Lions will host their first varsity game on the CCS campus this week when they play Hayesville (NC) Friday. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m.
