A Lenexa-based high school football team comprised of homeschooled students ended their first-ever undefeated season with a national title win in Florida last month.
On Nov. 22, the Christ Prep Patriots varsity football squad was crowned the National Homeschool Football Association’s national title winner after defeating the Houston-based Tomball Christian Warriors, 22-7.
The victory was the third championship overall for the 11-man Christ Prep team, which started in 2003, and also won titles in 2018 and 2019.
Coach Tom Hurley said this year’s title was a fitting way to end a 13-0 season.
“Two years ago, we lost to the same team (Tomball). I can tell you it’s a much more enjoyable ride coming home having won the game,” Hurley said in an interview with the Johnson County Post.
This year’s team was “pretty special”
The team’s coach since 2016, Hurley said, while he’s led them to two previous championships, the determination and athletic ability of this year’s squad stood out.
“This team is … pretty special. It’s the first time we’ve ever gone 13-0, undefeated. And so that, in and of itself, was very unique and special to this team,” he said.
Acting as both a coach and mentor to the players, Hurley said the Patriots’ season still had its ups and downs, even with all the victories and no losses.
Early in the season, it played another undefeated squad from Missouri, the Penney High School Hornets, which turned out to be both a challenge and a sea change for the team. Hurley said they had to dig deep to gut out a 16-13 win.
“That was a game that, honestly, as we talked about as coaches, we probably should have lost that game,” Hurley said. “But every season, you’re going to have one or two games where you probably should lose, but somehow you find a way to win it … That was really a turning point for the season.”
From there, the team handily defeated most of their opponents, cruising to the national title game in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Winning isn’t everything
While Hurley is proud of the team’s accomplishments, his main goal is building their character off the field, he says.
“Our motto is, ‘We want to build Godly men for the next generation,'” Hurley said. “We want to play good football, we want to win, we want to have all those types of experiences. But it’s more about building a culture where young men are going to be challenged to grow and mature.”
A former high school athlete himself, Hurley coached a homeschool football team in Oklahoma City before his family moved to the Kansas City area in 2011. Wanting to continue coaching, he joined Christ Prep’s program in 2016.
What Hurley loves about the program: Everyone who is involved in the program wants to be there. Players come from all over the metro area and earn their roles on the team. Its staff is made up entirely of volunteers, including Hurley.
Christ Preparatory Academy has a physical location in Lenexa for students to take certain classes, but the football team has to coordinate with local churches and schools to find fields to practice on during the season.
“We get kids from all over the city who have to figure out how to get together, where to go and pay to be a part of (this). So it’s not easy, but there’s a lot of opportunity out there,” he said.
The team is about building confidence, character
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Since coming on as the Patriots’ coach, Hurley said he’s wanted to be a positive role model for the team, like other coaches were to him growing up.
“I went to a private school in Colorado, and my high school football coach was just really instrumental in my life,” he said. “I had an alcoholic, kind of absentee father, and so he really kind of stepped into that role when I was a young man.”
Off the field, Hurley said the team does Bible studies, has deep talks about faith and practices public speaking to prepare them for life after high school.
Especially for the seniors on the team, Hurley said the ultimate wins aren’t reflected on the scoreboard, but rather, seeing them graduate from the team as leaders.
“I let these guys know that, ‘Here’s your opportunity. Basically, God’s giving you this year to step into this leadership role. And so, now you have an opportunity to display that. You need to tap into the gifts that God’s given you and become the leader that you need to be,'” he said.
With this year’s team being made up predominantly of juniors, that means there will be a lot of leaders returning next season, Hurley said.
He can’t wait to see how they do it and prepare for their next roles in life.
“When we see the young men graduate and get into life and get jobs, and then they’re active in their church, and they get married and start having families and all those types of things, that’s where we, as a coaching staff, really take joy in seeing them become successful men,” he said.
Other Johnson County football news: Graham Mertz, one-time Blue Valley North football star, is going to the NFL
