The Bethlehem Christian Academy football team was so close to a win Friday the players and coaches could probably almost taste it.
In the end, however, Covenant Christian Academy would hold on for a 28-27 win, spoiling a furious comeback attempt for the Knights.
“It was a tough one to take,” said BCA coach Don Garmon. “It was a game where you felt you left a lot of points on the field. You have to tip your hat to Covenant because they did what they had to do to win. Their Wing-T offense allowed them to grind it out. Overall, I thought our scheme was solid. We did a much better job against them in the second half.”
P.J. Klein rushed for three scores for the Knights while Chandler Garmon had a strong night passing the football for more than 165 yards.
Niko Mailloux also had a touchdown reception and two-point conversion.
“We had too many penalties,” Garmon said. “We had a 60-yard touchdown pass brought back on a holding call. Offensively, we did some good things even though a couple of drives stalled out.”
Mailloux was also praised for his special teams work in handling punts.
Offensively, there was noted improvement from game one to game two, the coaches said.
“Friday was a tough game for us,” said BCA offensive coordinator Lance Fendley. “I thought we were sharp at times. Overall, we were much more efficient, scoring quickly and often while being balanced. I thought Chandler threw the ball very well Friday night as he completed a good portion of his passes and would have had two touchdown passes if the long one to Niko wouldn’t have been called back for holding. P.J. ran the football very well.”
Defensively, Covenant Academy jumped out to an early lead but the necessary adjustments were made at halftime by coordinator Nick Pou.
“I thought Coach Pou did a great job at halftime,” Garmon said. “We went back to doing what we needed to do.”
Pou said he does not like teams jumping out to fast starts against the Knights.
“The biggest problem so far has been getting off to a slow start,” he said. “Once our defense gets three or four series under their belts, they can play toe-to-toe with anyone. It’s our job as coaches to make sure our guys are ready to go from the opening kick. We had numerous opportunities to win that game Friday night. We can’t focus on one play, person, or call that didn’t go our away. As a young football team, we just need to learn how to win and continue to do so.”
