By Jeff Johncox
Things have been going pretty well for Community Christian this season.
The Royals have run the regular-season table at 9-0, earning the top seed in the Oklahoma Christian Schools Athletics Association playoffs. It's the first time in school history CCS has achieved a perfect regular season, a milestone not lost on the players or coaching staff.
"I've been coaching for 30 years, and only one other time was I part of an undefeated team at this point in the season," defensive coordinator Paul Potter said. "That was 1988 at Edmond. So, it doesn't happen very often. It's pretty special."
The Royals begin the postseason at 8 p.m. Friday at home against Southwest Christian, a team they beat 54-26 Oct. 2 on the same turf.
CCS' success this season is pretty remarkable considering where this program was a season ago, or even six months ago.
The Royals have long been one of the better Christian school programs in the state, but 2008 was a very trying year. Coach Brooks Mosier battled cancer all of last season, watching practices and games from a golf cart.
Playing with heavy hearts, the Royals struggled to a 5-7 record, eventually falling 53-48 to Destiny Christian in the OCSAA title game.
Then came Mosier's death last spring.
The team rallied around the former coach's memory during the preseason, and came out determined on both sides of the ball, even without any returning starters.
"It's really special," receiver Beau Potter said. "He was a great guy and a great coach. It means a lot to go back after a state championship. Hopefully we'll win it this year."
Junior quarterback Scott Seymour is one of the reasons CCS has been so good this season.
Seymour has completed 72 of 128 passes for 1,307 yards, 26 touchdowns and has thrown only two interceptions.
He didn't play last year as a sophomore, but he's definitely made his presence known this season.
"It's been really good, especially with last year, because of all the stuff that happened with coach Mosier," Seymour said. "It's been really fun."
Beau Potter (13 catches, 374 yards, 13 touchdowns), London Smith (20, 358, 4 TDs) and Isaac Treadaway (16, 309, 4 TDs) have been Seymour's biggest targets all year.
And running back Jared Owen has followed in big brother Bryan's footsteps, dominating on the ground with 836 yards and eight touchdowns on 170 carries.
"The success has been a good combination of playing pretty sound on defense and running the ball well to keep the clock moving and keep the defense off the field," Paul Potter said. "It's been a total team effort."
First-year coach Josh Norman knows a little bit about running the table, too. He was part of the 2000 Oklahoma national championship team that went 13-0, knocking Florida State in the national championship game.
It would be pretty special if his group of Royals can finish things off with two more victories.
"Everything's working for us," Beau Potter said. "Nothing's really going wrong. The big difference is the amount of work we put in over the summer and before the season even started in two-a-days. I think this team is closer."
If CCS beats Southwest Christian Friday, a rematch in next week's championship game with Destiny could be looming.
That would suit CCS just fine.
"Last year, (we) lost in the last 11 seconds," freshman linebacker and tight end Blake Nelson said. "Now we get a new opportunity to win a state championship."
Jeff Johncox 366-3535 jjohncox@normantranscript.com
