Champe may not look the part, but the unbeaten Knights are ‘here to win’
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Version 0 of 1. Sometimes, Champe’s offense has exploded for blowout victories. Other times, the defense has led the way. Always, the Knights have found a way to be on top in the end because regardless of size, speed or strength, the team has won all 11 games it has played this fall. “Our kids don’t pass the eye test,” Coach Jason Dawson said. “When you see that team walk on the field, and our kids walk on the field, it’s not always clear who is undefeated. And that’s a compliment to our kids — they play bigger than what they are.” As freshmen and sophomores, most of the senior members of the team were on the sideline for 0-10 and 2-8 seasons in Champe’s first two years of existence. Against George Washington-Danville on Friday night, Champe grinded out a 16-13 victory against an athletically superior opponent with a handful of Division-I recruits. “GW-Danville took the field, and you couldn’t help but go ‘good lord, some of these kids are impressive,’ ” Dawson said. “Our guys play with an edge that comes from having people beat you down. They started their varsity careers 2-18. You have no choice but to compete. It’s an unusual group of kids, and a really great team.” Champe’s passing game relies on 6-foot-6 wide receiver Kuony Deng, 6-foot-4 tight end Owen Cosenke and leading receiver Coleman Rafferty, who operates out of the slot. Along with an option running offense, the Knights know that the opposition can shut down a few of their offensive weapons but not all of them. “We’re not flooded with D-I talent, we don’t have tons of freak athletes or size or speed,” Deng said. “But what we do at Champe is compete and do our job. The way we prepare during the week sets us apart.” In Friday’s game-winning drive, quarterback Zach Burdick hit Rafferty and Cosenke for key completions and picked up another first down on the run. Carl Garmon, who came into the game as Champe’s third-leading rusher, led the team with 113 all-purpose yards, and his final carry set up fourth and one at the 4-yard line. Going for it was tempting, but Dawson trusted his kicker, and William Nichols booted a 20-yard field goal with 36 seconds remaining to give Champe the win. The Knights host Salem (11-0) in Saturday’s region semifinal in Aldie. “Everybody on our team trusts everybody else to do their job, so we weren’t nervous. Everybody knew Willy would make that kick,” senior linebacker Corey Young said. “We feel like we have something to prove. People don’t respect us because we’re a new school and haven’t had much success in the past. We’re a serious team and we’re here to win.” |