SIX-MAN FOOTBALL: Cullman Christian chasing championship demons, setting sights on state title

Cullman Christian’s focus as it prepares to embark on a fourth season of six-man football has been mostly on the future.

After being shutout in last year’s state championship game, however, some has been understandably spent on the past as well.

The Lions trailed Victory Christian by just six points shortly before halftime when everything started to unravel. Snap over the punter’s head for a safety. Long return on the ensuing free kick. Pick-six. Mishandled exchange for a fumble.

So on. So forth.

“Four interceptions, two lost fumbles and a safety,” Cullman Christian coach Chase Cantrell said. “Can’t win a game like that.”

That isn’t news to the fourth-year leader’s returning players. Seniors Luke Barlow and Brett Perry have sat through the game film from that title tilt at least five or six times.

It never gets any easier.

“It really sucks to think about,” Barlow said. “I just almost re-live those errors and those miscommunications, just everything that went wrong.”

Added Perry: “That was terrible. It’s hard to watch yourself with those missed tackles, those wrong plays called on defense. Our defense this year should be much better.”

Third-year quarterback Will Siegenthaler admitted the loss was “pretty discouraging” and said it gives him “extra desire” to avoid the same fate this fall. According to the senior, experience and chemistry could be the difference in Cullman Christian getting over its championship hump.

Despite last season’s defeat, the Lions enter 2015 as the favorite to win state. Victory Christian lost three of its core contributors to graduation. Cullman Christian, meanwhile, has largely remained intact.

Of the program’s 11 players, eight are seniors.

“We’ve played together for about four years now, and we’ve been in class together longer than that,” Siegenthaler said. “We’ve been playing kickball, basketball, dodgeball, all kinds of sports together. We know each other’s strengths, so we know how to play better and help each other.”

That familiarity shone through in a big way during the Lions’ jamboree last week. Cantrell figured he’d get the usual production from his core three — Siegenthaler and running backs Barlow and Perry — but wound up receiving so much more in an 84-0 runaway over first-year program Cornerstone Christian.

Senior transfer Jarrett Anders had three touchdowns, a pick-six and a fumble recovery. Sam Vermillion was so accurate on his extra points Cantrell started backing them up to the 25-yard line.

The sophomore still didn’t miss.

The Lions were so effective on the ground they only attempted one pass the entire evening. The last play of the game was a 70-yard touchdown tote by a receiver.

“You’re kind of scared it’s going to give you false confidence,” Siegenthaler said with a laugh. “But I think it set us up great. Just give the younger guys some experience. They scored a little bit.”

One of the Lion cubs to find the end zone was Perry’s brother, Aaron. The eighth-grader was eventually given a chance to run the ball and didn’t let it slip.

“That’s all he’s been talking about all weekend long,” Brett said. “It’s fun to be able to set that block and for him to score his touchdown. It was real special to watch that.”

Six-man football is similar to its traditional 11-man counterpart but does have some noticeable differences. First downs are 15 yards, and quarterbacks can’t run. The value of PATs and two-point conversions are flip flopped because kicks are harder to block with only so many defensive players allowed on the line.

Cullman Christian has slowly but surely adapted to the alterations, going 20-8 with a pair of deep postseason appearances — the program wasn’t eligible for the playoffs its first year — since joining the Christian Football Association through the Alabama Christian Education Association.

“When we started out, we were trying to play 11-man football with six guys, and you just can’t do that,” Perry said. “It’s all about speed. You’ve got to get to the edge and seal off the defenders so you can hopefully head towards that end zone.”

Barlow’s well aware that not everyone takes six-man football seriously. He thinks the smaller numbers actually make the game harder because six-man squads have more field to cover and more two-way players who rarely ever see the sideline.

Not that he’s complaining.

“It’s definitely not a joke,” Barlow said. “It’s hard work, and I love it. Just being out there, just the fact we have a football team, it’s awesome.”

Cullman Christian’s regular season opener will be Friday at home against Meadowview Christian out of Selma.

Cantrell’s goals are to go undefeated and lift the state championship.

Perry’s aren’t any different.

“Our grade, we’ve always been real competitive,” he said. “The expectation’s always to win every game every time we go out there. This year, we know we have a real good chance if we’ll just stay in it and stay strong until the end of the season.”

The Lions’ roster is rounded out by seniors Greg LeBlanc, Jackson Holbrook and Grant Wideman; sophomore Cameron Hudson; and freshman Nolan Warner. Adam Cornelius serves as assistant coach.