(pictured above: From left to right: Zach Yopp, 2014 NFC Grad, now at West Point; Jack Marsh, NFC senior; Tanner Clemons, NFC senior; Jacob Wynn, NFC senior)

Jack Marsh, Tanner Clemons, and Jacob Wynn, three seniors at North Florida Christian, continue to navigate the process required to secure a coveted nomination for one of the United States service academies.
Tanner Clemons, who has attended NFC since kindergarten, is an active member of the Varsity Basketball team, numerous clubs, and manages to stay at the top of his class.
Clemons has been working towards excelling on the SAT and ACT in order to raise his chances of being selected to attend one of the military academies.
He demonstrates leadership skills, a crucial quality to be accepted into an academy, while serving as the Student Body President at NFC. Clemons’ top picks are the Coast Guard Academy where he would like to major in electrical engineering, or the Naval Academy where he would like to work with cyber operations.
Jack Marsh has also attended NFC since kindergarten. He participates in Varsity Wrestling and Track and Field, National Honor Society, Key Club, and is at the top of his class academically.
Jack has served in a variety of leadership positions, such as being an elected member of Student Government and an officer in Key Club.
Over the summer, Marsh was selected to attend the Naval Academy Summer Seminar camp in Annapolis, Maryland. The camp focused on teaching fundamentals of the Naval Academy. “I really enjoyed the experience because it helped me to see what the Naval Academy really stood for, and the different cultures that surrounded it,” said Marsh when asked about his personal experience.
His top choices are the Naval Academy or the United States Military Academy at West Point, but has a back-up plan of attending either Auburn University or Florida State.
Jacob Wynn has attended NFC since Preschool. He has lettered in Varsity football as well as track and field. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Key Club and has started the first ever newspaper at NFC. He has held offices in NHS, Key Club and has held various positions as a class officer. Jacob has also participated with Kid’s Vote and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Jacob’s first choice would be The United States Military Academy at West Point. If his first choice is not awarded, Jacob plans to get involved with the ROTC at one of the local colleges.
Over the past several weeks, Marsh, Clemons, and Wynn have interviewed with the offices of officials like US Senator Marco Rubio and US Representative Gwen Graham in hopes of gaining their support.
They are also active in the West Point Society of Tallahassee, which exposes them to the traditions of the service academy and provides opportunities to meet with retired veterans and alumni of various academies.
Marsh, Clemons, and Wynn also had the opportunity to meet with West Point graduate David Rich, who is a leader in the West Point Society of Tallahassee.
In recent years, NFC has sent several graduates to West Point, the most recent being Zach Yopp, who graduated in 2014.
North Florida Christian has sent a total of 11 students to a service academy since 2011, more than any other school in the surrounding area.

The NFC Eagles played against their rival, the Wakulla War Eagles, last night at Wakulla. The NFC football team had an extremely hard week of practices in attempt to prepare for the game, but it was the War Eagles that came out on top 42-23.

Feeding off of adrenaline, the Eagles scored first with a running touchdown by Jay Harrison, gaining a quick 6-0 lead. However, Wakulla followed with a touchdown shortly after, bringing the score to 7-6. Eagle kicker, Matt McCardle increased the lead to 9-7 with a field goal early in the second quarter.

On an offensive drive down the field, the Eagle’s worst-case scenario happened- quarterback Avery Thomas’ helmet came off and Thomas was injured. Receiver and backup quarterback, Marvin Scott, 12, filled in for Thomas while he received stitches on the sidelines with 2 minutes left in the first half.

“It had been a while since I played quarterback, but Coach Craft prepared me all last week for a situation like last night. I just did what the team needed me to do,” said Scott when asked how he was feeling after being put in his situation.

After Thomas’ injury, the Eagles seemed to be shaken up and made multiple mistakes that resulted in four Wakulla touchdowns bringing the score to 42-9. Thomas was able to return after the half, but after several more hard hits to the head that were followed by targeting and personal fouls, Head Coach Robert Craft decided to pull Thomas for the rest of the game.

Scott helped lead the Eagles down the field gaining two more touchdowns by TJ Ashley and Troy Jones in the fourth quarter. Even though Eagle defense worked harder than ever last night, the Eagles ultimately fell short to Wakulla 42-23.

The Eagles return Thursday, October 29, against district opponent, FAMU.

The North Florida Eagles faced the Florida High Seminoles Friday night in an adrenaline pumping, close game. In recent years, the two teams have become close local rivals, but it was Florida High that came out on top 38-35 for the fourth year in a row.

The Friday night game started out rough for the Eagles when they came out on their first offensive drive and quarterback Avery Thomas’ first pass was intercepted by the Seminoles.  NFC’s defense quickly rebounded off of the error and players Jalen Norwood and TreDez Jones led in a strong defensive stop.

After 14 unanswered points by the Seminoles in the first quarter, Jay Harrison from the Eagles ran in their first touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Armunz Matthews helped lead the offense down the field last night with 12 successful receptions for 140 yards.  Korey Charles was no stranger with the ball last night either, with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The second touchdown tied the score up 28-28 with two minutes left on the clock, forcing the game into overtime.

The Seminoles had the ball first in overtime, and Isaiah Hill quickly rushed into the end zone for a touchdown, but the Eagles did not waste any time with the ball in their hands. Nate Shafer caught a long pass from quarterback, Avery Thomas, for a touchdown, tying the score up again at 35-35.

In the second overtime, the Eagles were forced into a back-to-back offensive sequence, which led to communication errors between the quarterback and the offensive line. Center, Alex Clark, snapped the ball and Thomas was not ready; the Eagles fumbled and the Seminoles recovered. Kicker for the Seminoles, Chase Allbaugh, kicked the winning field goal in double overtime, leaving the Eagles feeling crushed.

The NFC Eagles will return strong next week at home against close rival Maclay for homecoming.

Last night, the NFC Eagles football team played Providence School, from Jacksonville, Florida, on their home field.

The Eagles and the Stallions have become close rivals in the past few years, and the Eagles were anxious to play Providence again after defeating them in overtime last year in Stallion territory.

In numerous polls this week, the Eagles were not favored to win against the Stallions, but ultimately, the Eagles came out on top 24-14.

In the first half, the determined Eagles came out and scored 21 points.

Quarterback Avery Thomas, sophomore, threw two touchdown passes to receivers Nate Shafer, a junior, and Marvin Scott, a senior.

Thomas also threw a long interception to the quick-handed Providence defense, but the strong Eagle defense, led by seniors, Phil Gardner and TreDez Jones, were able to successfully stop Providence.

TreDez Jones and Lyn Strange, a junior, also had two crucial interceptions in the second half which resulted in a vital defensive stop.

Terrell Powell, a junior and week 2 Big Bend Player of the Week, returned last night after being injured for the previous two weeks. Powell came back strong last night with 10 tackles on defense, three of which were huge hits for the Eagles.

Providence running back, Jamauri Wakefield, was no stranger with the ball in his hand though. Wakefield was one of the leading rushers for both teams, alongside the Eagle’s Korey Charles, a senior, who had 212 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The NFC Eagles will be off this week, but will be playing Florida High, another local rival, at home on October 9^th.