VILLAGE CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS
Village Christian won't field team in 2019
Village Christian Academy has canceled its 2019 football season due to a lack of numbers in the wake of the school’s punishment for offering impermissible benefits to players during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
In March, the school was placed on probation for the 2020-21 school year and had to forfeit its wins from the 2017 and 2018 seasons, which included a 2018 state championship. The school also was fined an undisclosed amount after it was determined several players from the Triangle area were offered free tuition and daily rides to attend the school in a shuttle driven by former football coach Emerson Martin.
The school cut ties with Martin in March.
“Canceling the season was never what we wanted,” athletics director Harold Morrison said. “We definitely did not want to cancel football but it became a numbers issue, more than anything.”
The school leadership voted unanimously during the spring to continue the program. Morrison said the unsuccessful search for Martin’s replacement and a lack of attendance for off-season workouts were troubling enough that by the end of June, he called a parents’ meeting to discuss the issue.
2018 IN REVIEW
Aug. 17 — W, at Dillon Christian, 70-7
Aug. 24 — W, Concord First Assembly, 62-6
Sept. 7 — W, at Harrells Christian Academy, 43-6
Sept. 21 — W, at Hickory Grove Christian, 55-6
Sept. 28 — W, at Wake Christian, 27-6
Oct. 5 — W, at Sandhills Christian, 28-21
Oct. 12 — W, North Raleigh Christian, 50-0
Oct. 19 — W, at Ravenscroft, 50-24
Oct. 25 — L, Trinity Christian, 56-15
Nov. 11 — W, Harrells Christian, 49-7
Nov. 16 — W, Asheville School, 49-14
* — Won NCISAA Division III state championship
Village Christian loses state championship over NCISAA violations
[File/The Fayetteville Observer]
The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association has found Village Christian guilty of recruiting violations during the 2017 and 2018 football seasons, a ruling that results in the loss of the Knights’ 2018 state championship.
The NCISAA handed down the ruling Monday, issuing a statement that the school had recruited students to play football and offered them benefits to do so, both violations of its rules.