Crusaders stand at 8-0 behind senior quarterback B.J. Suits
By Thomas Grant Jr.
There’s no other place quarterback B.J. Suits wants to finish his senior year than at Northside Christian Academy.
“I never imagined myself anywhere else, honestly,” he said. “And I think it’s just something built in me always is to stay loyal to what’s been given to you and I really appreciate all the loyalty that I’ve been shown around me and show that loyalty back to them.”
His decision to stay has proven rewarding. At 8-0 overall and 3-0 in SCISA Class 3 Region I, the Crusaders are undefeated and have posted the second most regular season wins in school history.
“This has certainly been fun to see the growth in these young men,” head coach Dean Howell said. “What we went through last year with graduating so many from the 10-win team of 2024 and then to have a bunch of kids transfer out was tough.
“The beauty of this group is that 95 percent of this team is the same group of kids from last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. These kids have grown up in our system and I am so happy for them.
“I’ve coached a lot of years now, and each time I’ve ever coached I remember as they are all different; yet there are also all special in their own way.”
Suits has been the centerpiece of Northside Christian Academy’s offense. In eight games, he has rushed for 1,107 yards and 23 touchdowns and completed 46-77 passes for 703 yards and eight touchdowns
Junior tight end/defensive end Mac Jackson is second on the team in rushing (529 yards, 6 TDs) and sophomore Tucker McGinty is the top target at wide receiver with 15 receptions for 333 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Crusaders have collected 10 interceptions and are holding opponents to 14 points per game. They are coming off their first shutout of the season 28-0 over Cardinal Newman on Oct. 9.
Valuable to the success
Along with giving God “all the glory”, Suits credits teammates like senior lineman Will Brodie.
“I can’t do anything without him blocking, so it’s kind of instrumental right there,” he said. “He starts everything and ends everything as far as that goes.”
“Will Brodie has been a force at both center and nose on defense,” Howell said. “ B.J. is, by far, one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached. He and Brodie are lifelong NCA kids who have been in our program since I’ve been here. They are the bedrock of our foundation and I’m very grateful for them.”
Howell also pointed to getting senior linebacker Kai Finkbeiner back in the lineup. His explosiveness the past few weeks has provided a “huge” plus along with surprising senior defensive returnees Hunter Peeler, Aslan Railey, and Nolan Reiser.”
“All of our kids are valuable to the success of our team and I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that. It’s a beautiful thing to see so many people come together for a common goal and be so willing to sacrifice individual awards and recognition to make it happen. I’m really proud of this team and their coaches as we have a bunch of phenomenal people who have worked tirelessly for the betterment of each other. You don’t see that much in our world anymore and I’m really blessed to work somewhere that recognizes the importance of that value.”
“Culmination of a great season”
Friday begins Northside Christian Academy’s most important stretch since reaching the Eight-Man final in 2017. They play host to Florence Christian, then closed out the season Oct. 20 at Wilson Hall.
The Crusaders are 1-1 all-time against the Eagles and 0-2 versus the Eagles. A sweep would clinch the region title and homefield advantage through the SCISA Class 3A playoffs.
It was also clinch the school’s first and most unexpected undefeated regular season.
“I really think that these two games can show what we’ve been able to put into the program the past off-season and I think it’s the culmination of a really great season and I think I’m really excited to see how these last two games go.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.