At the beginning of the season, the Community School of Davidson’s (CSD) varsity football team often wondered what could possibly happen next. As if losing a lightning shortened game wasn’t enough, a hurricane just a few weeks later threw the team for another loop. A Friday night “under the lights” game then became a Monday night reschedule. Nothing seemed normal.

But once the team found its stride, there were plenty of thrilling moments throughout the year.

The Spartans’ most memorable game had to be the one against Mountain Island Charter which got rescheduled due to a hurricane and was played on a Monday night. However, that did not stop the Spartans from winning their first conference game of the year beating the Raptors 24-6.

Jaxon Robeson (‘26) ran all over the Raptors totalling 20 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown. While there wasn’t a touchdown thrown, Brandon Albert (‘25), led receivers with 6 receptions for 90 yards. Pine Lake transfer, Jack Smith (‘25), led the team with a total of 9 tackles.

The rivalry game of the season, the “Battle For The Paddle” for the Spartans, came on November 1 against rival Pine Lake Prep. This year the Spartans gained three senior transfers from Pine Lake including quarterback, Jake Johnson (‘25), linebacker, Ryan Connotillo (‘25), and defensive lineman, Jack Smith (‘25). With these new transfers the rivalry was renewed and the hype for this game was insane.

Although rivalry games are supposed to be close, the Spartans took firm control of the game in the early minutes and did not look back. The Spartans won by a score of 41-10.

It is safe to say that Pine Lake did not show up mentally. Their defense seemed weak, as Brandon Albert absolutely torched their defense gaining a total of 257 yards and three touchdowns. The saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” was very true for the Spartans offense during this game as they kept handing it off to Albert.

Oliver Morris (‘25) hit the trifecta on defense. He had a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Miccah Mccoy (‘25) picked off the Pine Lake quarterback, as well. The three transfers got their revenge against their former school and celebrated the victory after by waving the trademark paddle. The paddle is something those three seniors aren’t used to as Pine Lake hasn’t beat CSD in over 5 years. This was a great win to set the Spartans up for a playoff run.

While the Spartans weren’t able to make the NCHSAA State Championship game their playoff run was still very impressive. They were able to make it to the third round where their run unfortunately came to an end against a very good Shelby team.

Before Shelby, the Spartans showed they were a tough team to beat as they took down Bandy’s by a score of 42-6 and Mount Pleasant by a score of 30-7.

The Bandy’s game was highlighted by the two headed rushing attack of Brandon Albert gaining 123 yards and 4 touchdowns and Oliver Morris gaining 125 yards and one touchdown. Noah Watson led the defense by getting a sack to go alongside his 10 total tackles.

The Mount Pleasant game was more of the same as Brandon Albert rushed for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ryan Connotillo also led the team in tackles with 14 total.

Overall the season was a very good one. The team was ranked 113th overall in the state of North Carolina and was ranked 12th overall in the North Carolina 2A division.

Stat-wise, Brandon Albert led the team with an average of 56.2 receiving yards per game and 106.8 rushing yards per game. He also led the team with 20 total touchdowns. He will continue to play football at Lafayette. Ryan Connotillo led the team in tackles with an average of 9.3 per game, Oliver Morris led the sack category with 9, and Miccah Mccoy had 8 picks, which led the team. And quarterback Jake Johnson ended the year with 13 total touchdown passes.

This was a very competitive group of athletes who fought their hardest each and every week. With 11 seniors graduating this year, the team will be much younger for the next few years but will most likely leave behind more great moments that will be very memorable for the next several years to come.

So what made this season so special?

Two seniors, Oliver Morris and Collin Klee, put it in perspective.

“Making new friends that have come from other schools, having a good run in the playoffs, and surprising a lot of teams throughout the year.” Oliver Morris (‘25) said.

“Being able to go to the third round playoffs for the third year in a row and the friendships I’ve made along the way,” Collin Klebe (‘25) said.

The Spartans finished with a record of 9-4 overall and a 6-1 conference record, which landed them second overall in their conference. This was one of the better teams CSD has had in recent years.

Thanks for a great season, Spartans.