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From the Coaches

Fall 2011 Awards
Though the football team finished with an uncharacteristic losing record, 3-6, the team demonstrated as much or more camaraderie and improvement as many other "successful" ANC football teams. The coaches unanimously agreed that the players were fun to coach. They always practiced with purpose. Sometimes they were hilarious, whether they wanted to be or not. In roughly the previous 40 years of ANC football a total of four freshmen earned starting positions. On this year's team five earned them. At least once we had six frosh on the field together in the heat of battle. With three sophomores also starting, perhaps the final record is understandable. It's not much of a stretch, too, to say that our record could/should have been 5-4, seeing as we lost one game in double overtime and another in the last two minutes after we'd led almost the entire game. A mark of our improvement came in the season's last week, when we dramatically came back to beat Bristol on Monday, then lost 28-25 to an excellent Tatnall School team on Saturday in the second of the two games mentioned in the previous sentence.

Certainly the star of the team was Co-Captain Travis McCurdy, who caught and ran the ball with remarkable skill, grace, speed and determination. He repeatedly made plays that the head coach had never seen an ANC player make. Most impressively (but certainly not surprisingly for an ANC athlete) he did so without a trace of ego. On Charter Day, unfortunately, Travis hurt his shoulder in the second period, missed the rest of that game, missed the next game (against Independence League winner Springfield), could only kick against the next opponent (2nd place Pennington), and played the final two games gingerly (though he scored two TDs in each). A healthy Travis would have obviously made us better.

But Travis wasn't the only player to miss time due to injury. Aramis A., Justin C., Landon E., Jayson H., Walter K.-B., Shane M. and Amir N. all missed significant playing time because of injuries that plagued us all season. We never enjoyed the luxury and confidence-building of the same starting line-up two weeks in a row. Despite the injuries and position juggling, the team was determined to win every game. That determination, the remarkable number of underclassmen on the starting team and the successful JV team (which also served as the tremendously helpful "Scout" team) bode very well for the future. Keep an eye on ANC football in 2012.

Many thanks to the parents who, inspired by Mr. Brent McCurdy, supported us in various ways, most notably in the absolutely scrumptious dinners they served us on the eves of most games.

 

2011 Opening Remarks
With only five seniors (Luke and Kirk Synnestvedt, Jeff Levy, Travis McCurdy and Christian Blair) ANC's 2011 football team will be the youngest we've had in decades, perhaps ever. Of our 32 players, 3-5 freshmen will be starters, which is 1-4 more than the previous low. Nonetheless, the kids are talented and enthusiastic. Led by Travis, we've had some success in our pre-season scrimmages. The coaches think this group of players can develop into a fine team. We like the team's chemistry early-on. Many of the boys did a lot of working out together over the summer, which has put us clearly in a better position than we'd be in had they not done so.

Athletics

Boys Teams | Football

Our Boys Football team is known for their high-quality athleticism and sportsmanship. We play fiercely in the Independence Football League. For up-to-date information and game cancellations, call our Sports Hotline: 267-502-4801.

Click Here to See the Game Schedule >>

2011/12 Fall Award Winners

EAA - Travis McCurdy
Coaches Award  - Luke Synnestvedt
Coaches Award - Jeff Levy
Coaches Award - Landon Elder

Scores and Recaps

11/7/11 JV ANC 6 @ Bristol 29
The JV season ended with a 29-6 loss on Monday, Nov. 7 against a very speedy Bristol. Alex Hyatt scored our lone TD on a tough 60 yard run. Zahir Murray nearly returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Quarterback Derrick McMichael, under extreme pressure all game, took a lot of punishment but kept getting up. As you would expect, the team played hard all the way to the final whistle.

11/5/11 Varsity ANC 25 @ Tatnall 28
The varsity ended the season with a 28-25 loss at the Tatnall School in Delaware on Saturday, Nov. 5. We led most of the way but gave up the lead with less than three minutes to play and couldn't score on our last possession. In many ways we played our best game of the season. Tatnall was one of the better teams on our schedule and with a win next week will win the Delaware Independent School's Championship for the second consecutive year. Travis McCurdy scored on two spectacular runs, two extra-point kicks and a 36 yard field goal. Shane McCurdy scored our third TD on a beautifully thrown pass from Landon Elder, who also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Justin Cole. The offensive line of guards Luke and Kirk Synnestvedt, Scott Weiss, Tino Nakos and Victor Pedchenko played very well together, opening nice holes for the running backs and protecting our quarterbacks .Travis, Erik Cranch, Walter King-Bailes and Alex Hyatt all ran hard. Quarterbacks Landon Elder and Amir Nelson alternated for most of the first half, and both played well. Landon handled and threw the ball flawlessly, and Amir had ran like a halfback on a number of quarterback counters. Both of them, however, got hurt in the course of the game, Landon with broken and dislocated finger on his throwing hand in the second quarter, and Amir with a deep bruise on his lower leg in the third period. Landon, a splint on his injured finger and that finger taped to the one next to it, actually played defensive back in the second half. Amir was unfortunately done for the day. That left quarterback duties in the hands of Derrick McMichael, who connected with T. McCurdy on a clutch third down pass, got a crucial first down on 4th down quarterback sneak, and led us all the way down the field for a fourth quarter touchdown that retook the lead for us, 25-22. Some gutsy play by the three QBs, quite obviously. Defensively, we did a better job this week against the run but were victimized by Tatnall’s skilled quarterback and receivers. We made repeated stops in the first three quarters but gave up key pass plays in the fourth that led to the defeat. Though the loss was tough one to swallow, we came away knowing we'd played close to our best. Coupled with the exciting comeback win against Bristol the previous week, this game was proof that the team made a great deal of improvement in the season's closing weeks. That recognition is very satisfying.

10/31/11 Varsity ANC 35 v. Bristol 28
Because of the freak Halloween weekend snowstorm, the varsity football game vs. Bristol was pushed back from Saturday to Monday, Oct. 31. Snow was still melting on Ebert Field when the game began. Though we gave up an astronomical number of first half yards on the ground, we managed to tighten things up in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, and pulled out a 35-28 win. We trailed at the half, 28-14. Freshman Walter King-Bailes scored our first TD on a beautiful 47 yard run. Travis McCurdy kicked the first of his five extra points. Sophomore Jayson Hankins returned a kickoff 83 yards for our second TD. It was Jayson's second kickoff return for a TD this season. In the third quarter Landon Elder and Travis connected a 15 yard TD, Travis making an absolutely astounding catch over top of two Bristol defenders in the corner of the end zone. In the fourth quarter Landon found Freshman tight end Shane McCurdy over the middle. Shane momentarily bobbled the ball, got in under control and sprinted 24 yards for our fourth TD. Travis kicked the tying extra point. Twice in the final period we held on 4th down and short yardage, the second time with roughly two minutes remaining. We had some trouble moving the ball on the first three downs of our final possession, but on fourth and 10, Landon again hooked up with Travis, who made another circus catch, then streaked away from two defenders and across the goal line for the go ahead score with 30 seconds remaining. Though we made clutch offensive plays, we wouldn't have pulled the game out had not the defense toughened. Defensive linemen Kirk and Luke Synnestvedt, Tino and Antonio Nakos and Jeremy Adams rotated into the game, stayed low and gummed up Bristol's ground game. Linebackers Eric Cranch, Alex Hyatt and Jayson Hankins played aggressively when it mattered most. Landon, forced into action as a defensive back, made some key tackles. All in all, an exciting win and a great way to end our home field portion of the schedule. Our last game is at The Tatnall School on Saturday, Nov. 5. The JV game vs. Bristol was re-scheduled for Monday, Nov. 7, at Bristol.

10/24/11 JV ANC 6 v. Pennington 34
On Monday, Oct. 24 the junior varsity also lost to a good Pennington JV team, 34-6. our first JV loss of 2011. Amir scored our touchdown on a broken play. Both teams had good size and good skill position players, but Pennington was hungrier and more aggressive. Alex Hyatt made at least half the tackles for us and was hosted by swarms of teammates on many plays. Consistently slowing the running game, however, was the big challenge we couldn't seem to meet. Brandon Good made a beautiful interception and nearly scored on a great throw and catch with Derrick. Live and learn.

10/22/11 Varsity ANC 28 v. Pennington 48
Without injured quarterback Landon Elder, Derrick McMichael and Freshman Amir Nelson shared time at the controls and both did well. Amir ran for two touchdowns. Jayson Hankins ran the second half kickoff back for a TD. Aramis Alston scored on a 45 yard run. Although his shoulder injury kept him from playing on scrimmage plays, Travis McCurdy kicked a PAT and a 38 yard FG. Our challenge continues to be stopping our opponents' running games, perhaps because our starting defense includes five freshmen and three sophomores. But the boys continue to work hard and strive for improvement. The lumps we're taking now will pay dividends in future years, no doubt. We will have both Landon and Travis back next week, a 1 PM home game vs. Bristol on Saturday, Oct. 29.

10/14/11 V ANC 0 @ Springfield 37
The ANC football team ran into a buzz saw in undefeated Springfield High School on Friday night, Oct. 14. The senior dominated Spartans, almost certainly bound for the PIAA Class AA state playoffs, won their seventh consecutive game by at least three touchdowns. Our inexperienced squad (five freshmen and four sophomore starters) gave a pretty good fight, all things considered. Going into the game we were without our senior all-purpose threat, Travis McCurdy, who'd hurt his shoulder the previous week. Then, on the third play from scrimmage, quarterback Landon Elder was blind-sided, hurt HIS shoulder and was out for the rest of the game. Sophomore Derrick McMichael replaced Landon and did a commendable job, finishing the night without a turnover. We were unable to muster much offense, however, and wound up punting the ball at the end of each possession. Freshman Jesse Frazier's punt snaps were consistently good, as were freshman Justin Cole's punts. Defensively, we had a difficult time slowing Springfield's potent running and passing games. Sophomore Jayson Hankins led us in tackles, though most of them were after significant Springfield gains. Jason also came within one man of returning a kickoff for a touchdown. So it was a difficult night for us all, but we came away with our heads up after being the victim Springfield's large Homecoming crowd had anticipated.

10/8/11 V ANC 29 v. Delaware Military Academy 48
The ANC football team faced off against a strong opponent in Delaware Military Academy in front of a large Charter Day crowd last Saturday. ANC started off what would be a high-scoring affair on the first play from scrimmage with Landon E. connecting with Travis M. who took the perfectly weighted pass and raced past his defender to pay dirt. After DMA drove the length of the field, the score was 8-7 in favor of the Seahawks. ANC regained the lead on the second possession, again through the exploits of Travis M. who took a hand-off and was able to turn the corner and beat the entire DMA team down the sidelines for another long score. ANC scored again on a QB sneak by Landon E. (set up by a beautiful long pass from Landon E. to Shane M.) and a field goal by Travis M. in between two DMA TDs, making the score at halftime 23-24 in favor of DMA. Losing Travis M. for the game, ANC looked to Shane M., Jayson H., Aramis A., and Walter K. to step up against the growing DMA onslaught. Though DMA would eventually run away with it, these young players along with the offensive line of Victor P., Luke S., Scott W., Kirk S., and Tino N. continued to move the ball effectively against DMA. A final touchdown was converted on a great throw from Derrick M. to Shane M. making the final score 29-48.

9/30/11 V ANC 20 @ Perkiomen 28 (OT)
After allowing an opening kickoff return for a TD and falling behind at the half, 20-0, we played a rugged brand of football in the second half, tying the score in the middle of the 4th quarter and having a good opportunity to win in regulation. 3rd quarter touchdowns were scored by Aramis Alston on a 30 yard run, Travis McCurdy on a 15 yard pass from Landon Elder. Landon scored on a sneak in the 4th quarter. Travis kicked two extra points. In the first overtime, after stopping Perkiomen cold on their four plays, we narrowly missed a couple of chances to end with a victory. Perkiomen scored in the second overtime and we fell short. Overtimes are dicey situations in which the winner is sometimes as lucky as they are good. Anyway, a terrific comeback was nullified on the scoreboard by a few plays in overtime. We did, however,  play very intensely in the second half, especially Viktor Pedchenko and Alex Hyatt, and can draw upon the experience as the season progresses. Next up for us is a very strong, physical team - Delaware Military Academy, 1 o'clock on Saturday of Charter Day weekend.

9/26/11 JV ANC 20 @ Lower Moreland 12
On Monday, Sept. 26 our JV team won at Lower Moreland, 20-12. Quarterback Derrick McMichael again smoothly guided the offense. Antonio Nakos, Jeremy Adams, Erik Cranch, Tristan Stevens-King, and Brandon Russell paved the way for running backs Rashee Hall, Jayson Hankins and Alex Hyatt. Zahir Murray made several impressive open-field tackles. Jobin George had a few big hits. Jesse Frazier and Caelen Allen saw their first action and made plays that mattered. Senior Jeff Levy played inside linebacker and tight end, re-opened stitches on his chin, got taped up by Coach Mattison and went back into the game. Luke Fang got into the fray and played hard. Newcomer Darren Gladish showed that he will be a force when he learns the game. This solid win upped the JV record to 2-0. 

9/24/11 ANC 27 v. Lower Moreland 13
In varsity football ANC defeated Lower Moreland, 27-13, on Sat., Sept. 24. On a steamy day we rode the heroics of Travis McCurdy from start to finish. Travis scored all four of our touchdowns, one on an eight yard run, two on long passes from Landon Elder and one on a 90 yard kickoff return. He also kicked a PAT. Aramis Alston scored a two point conversion and also ran well all game behind the offensive line of Luke and KIrk Synnestvedt, Victor Pedchenko, Scott Weiss and Tino Nakos. Four freshmen started: 110 lb. Zahir Murray, Justin Cole (two very important catches), Walter King Bailes (a couple of crunching tackles) and Shane McCurdy. Shane and sophomore Alex Hyatt deserve special recognition because they were our inside linebackers, a position neither had played before the game. They both played hard and well. Sophomore Jayson Hankins recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. Everyone was pleased with the win over our good neighbors and their gentleman coach, Mark Mayson. Our varsity record is 2-1.

9/19/11 JV ANC 40 v. Valley Forge Military Academy 6
On Monday, Sept. 19 the Junior Varsity defeated Valley Forge Military Academy's JV, 40-6. Sophomore Derrick McMichael quarterbacked smoothly all game long. Touchdowns were scored by freshman Walter King-Bales (3), sophomore Jason Hankins, sophomore Alex Hyatt, and junior Erik Cranch on a nice pass from McMichael. Hyatt and Cranch caught 2-point conversion passes. The defense was led by Hyatt and junior Brandon Russell. Newcomer Brandon Good intercepted a pass in his first-ever football game. Every ANC player saw a lot of action. The game was a great start to the JV season. Smiles all around.

9/16/11 ANC 20 @ Hawthorne HS 49
On Friday, Sept. 16 the football team travelled to North Jersey for match-up with Hawthorne High School, a powerful, veteran team from that part of the state, a team that went to the state semi-finals in 2010 and could win it all in 2011. Hawthorne used its experience, execution and aggressiveness to defeat us 49-20. As we will likely do every weekend, we started four freshmen and four sophomores, which makes for challenge enough against any opponent, but Hawthorne was perhaps the strongest team ANC has ever faced. Travis McCurdy scored 14 of our points, six on a long pass from sophomore Landon Elder, six on a beautiful punt return and two on extra-point kicks. Our other six were scored by freshman Zahir Murray on last-play-of the game pass from Elder. There was no time for an extra point attempt after our final touchdown. Though the score was lopsided, we came home a better team. The boys never quit, and we were privileged to play against such a fine team in a real Friday Night Lights atmosphere. The Hawthorne boosters treated us to a post-game feast of as many hot-dogs, hamburgers, sodas, bottled waters, soft pretzels and bags of popcorn as we could consume, which we all did while visiting with Hawthorne staff and players. After stuffing ourselves, we boarded our luxury bus and watched "Remember the Titans" during our 2+ hour trip home. The boys all agreed that the trip and game were great experiences.

9/10/11 ANC 23 v. Mastery Charter 16
Led by tri-captains Luke S, Christian B, and Travis M, we won our opener over Mastery Charter. Despite some first game jitters and penalties, the team played very aggressively. We were ahead 23-0 in the closing minutes, then had to withstand a furious Mastery comeback. Our touchdowns were scored by Aramis A on a long run, Travis M on a short run and Justin C on a 20-yard pass from game-captain, Landon E. Travis M also kicked a 37 yard field goal and two extra points. The defense was led by Christian B, Travis M, Victor P and Jayson H. Four freshman played much of the game and were advanced beyond their years. They were Justin C, Walter K, Amir N and Shane M, who was given the challenging task of containing Mastery's star running back. Shane was awesome. Senior Jeff L did a fine job of keeping the special teams organized. The game DVD truly reveals the maximum effort every player made, making the game a terrific start to the season. Our next varsity contest is Friday night at Hawthorne, NJ High School. The game presents us with an immense challenge, a challenge the boys relish. The first JV game will be September 19 at Valley Forge Military Academy. Go Lions!

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Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools

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