Fellowship Christian still knocking on door to first state title

Over the past nine years, Fellowship Christian has gone 94-22 with seven region championships, including the past six in a row, and holds an active 36-game winning streak against region opponents.

Coming off a Class 3A-A Private runner-up finish last season and a seven-point loss to eventual champion Hebron Christian, Fellowship hopes to break through with its first state championship this season with a team that coach John Thompson believes has more good players and camaraderie than any Paladins team he's coached.

“We're going to have more quality depth than we've ever had since I've been here,” Thompson said. “When I say quality depth, I'm saying you don't go from A to C or D player. If the A player is out, you go from A just to B.”

Thompson says there are more than 60 players he trusts to go out and do the things necessary to win. Thompson says that even though some of their best players will play both ways, “if we want to, we could put 22 starters out there.” That is rare for a school with fewer than 500 students.

Since becoming head coach in 2023, Thompson has tracked every college visiting the Paladins.  In the past, coaches came to see players like Evan Haynes (North Carolina) and Josh Petty (Georgia Tech), Class of 2025, and noticed the other talented players on the team.

“Over the last two recruiting cycles, we've had 283 colleges come by our campus,” Thompson said.

Running back C.J. Givers, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports who committed to Duke earlier this summer, has more than 4,000 yards and 60 touchdowns on the ground in his career. Entering his senior season and fourth year starting, Thompson calls him a “difference-maker.”

Quarterback Jonathen Granby is being recruited as an athlete, according to 247Sports. Granby currently has 10 offers, including one from Georgia Tech. Granby is another player who won’t be off the field much as the team’s starting safety.

Givers and Granby, who reportedly runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, will present defenses with a scenario that pits them between a rock and a hard place.

Thompson knows that to win, teams must control the trenches.

He says this year’s offensive line group is special, not because it has the top recruits in the state, but because of experience and determination.

“We've got some guys that have been around,” Thompson said. “They’re overachievers. They love the weight room. They're not overly big, but they're good players.”

The Paladins have had three new players transfer in, each that Thompson expects to contribute if not start.

Thompson says it’s a big step for some players, knowing a transfer might take some of their playing time. Yet, they’ve embraced them as one of their own, he said.

“That doesn’t make a tackle,” Thompson said. “But it makes a team.”

The Paladins’ nine-year run of excellence started in 2016 with coach Al Morrell. They made it to the title game that year, losing to Eagle’s Landing Christian 34-27 in double overtime. The run continued when Tim McFarlin took over, and now Thompson is in the driver’s seat.

After another loss in the semifinals and a 10-3 record, Thompson says this offseason, the focus is on consistency and the little details. He wants his players to accept the accountability, understand the importance of hard work and love it.

“Sometimes you’ve got passion, and sometimes you have a system,” Thompson said. “If you've got a system without passion, you're not going to be successful. If you've got passion without a system, you're not going to be successful. So, we're trying to integrate passion and a system.”

Thompson has also brought in some new coaches to his staff. He’s enjoyed watching them integrate into the system, and says the players are helping them out.

Thompson calls it unique.

The question now is whether all the offseason work and that newfound depth will finally push the Paladins over the top. Now that they have their depth, can the Paladins reach that elusive state championship?

Thompson says that’s the goal. And the never-ending offseason preparation continues.

“I'm ready to go,” Thompson said. “Look soon as I get off this dern’ phone. I'm headed to the office. So, let’s go!”