Kareem Lucas, left, and Brad Kovach work on a tackling drill

A player short of being able to scrimmage in practices this
summer, Saturday will mark the first occasion Anchorpoint
Christian’s 8-man football team knows exactly what it will be
putting on the field this fall.
Hosting the five other Coastal Athletic League schools for a
jamboree at 10 a.m., the Warriors, coming off back-to-back Coastal
Athletic League titles, have just 15 players on the roster.

We don’t have a lot of players, but, as far as numbers go, all
we need is eight,

said senior Kenneth Urbanski.
GILROY – A player short of being able to scrimmage in practices this summer, Saturday will mark the first occasion Anchorpoint Christian’s 8-man football team knows exactly what it will be putting on the field this fall.

Hosting the five other Coastal Athletic League schools for a jamboree at 10 a.m., the Warriors, coming off back-to-back Coastal Athletic League titles, have just 15 players on the roster.

“We don’t have a lot of players, but, as far as numbers go, all we need is eight,” said senior Kenneth Urbanski.

Urbanski is one of four players on the team who have been with the program since its inception in 2007. During that time the Warriors have compiled a 12-4 overall record while going 9-0 in league play.

“I just think that when you win back to back, the target on your back gets bigger,” Anchorpoint head coach K.C. Adams said. “Last year’s team set such a high level of accomplishment, so the team coming in this year – our expectations are even higher.”

Departed is CAL Most Valuable Player Christian McCrimmon, a lithe running back who led the league with 30 touchdowns. But the Warriors were in a similar situation coming into last season after quarterback Adrian Rodriguez garnered the same award in 2007.

Anchorpoint will rely heavily this season on senior quarterback Josh Ignagni, who threw for 126 yards per game and scored eight rushing touchdowns in 2008.

The player who has many in the program buzzing in anticipation, however, is Kareem Lucas. A sophomore running back and linebacker Adams has listed at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Lucas is also considered the fastest player on the team.

“I don’t like pumping him up too much, but he’s something else,” Adams said.

Urbanski, who is the only player on the team who comes close to matching up with Lucas physically, has his own opinion.

“He’s a monster,” Urbanski said. “I work out with him every day and he’s making me better. I like to think I’m making him better.”

Several other players expected to make major contributions this season include nose tackle Josh Mastroieni, fullback/defensive tackle Josh Marozick, and Jacob Brendle and Nick Coleman, who will both be playing receiver and cornerback.

“If I had to pick out my eight best kids, my eight best would play any eight in the country,” Adams said. “We’re good, real good, from what I’m seeing at this stage of the game.”

With limited bodies on the field, though, especially now that several players have had to miss time at practice due to injuries, everyone is trying to be more responsible for their actions as individuals, as well as a unit.

“We have a motto this year: ‘If one messes up, we all mess up,'” Ignagni said.

“We have been running all summer. We need to be in shape because some of us will have to play the whole game. The key for us is to stay healthy all season.”

The stakes are obvious: A third straight league title is on the line.

“If they commit to the program, we’re going to be very hard to beat,” Adams said.

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