Christ School football players Drew Johnson, Seth Griswold, Tyler Redmond, Talon Hensley and Jared Gash.
Christ School students will soon convene in Arden for a new school year with a record enrollment of 293 boys.
Fifty-two of them showed up for the first day of football practice on Wednesday.
Former All-WNC linebacker Seth Griswold is a transfer from Roberson and joins a team that has 19 returning starters (10 offense, nine defense) from last year’s state runner-up squad. The Greenies went 10-3 in 2015 and lost in the NCISAA Division II championship game to Ravenscroft, 56-20.
Senior Drew Johnson passed for 2,717 yards and 26 touchdowns with nine interceptions last fall, and he has some big-time familiarity with receiving options like Kokayi Cobb (34 receptions for 417 yards and two touchdowns), Jared Letman-Gash (33 receptions for 929 yards and 10 touchdowns), Tyler Redmond (31 receptions for 460 yards and eight touchdowns) and Keyvaun Cobb (23 receptions for 321 yards and two touchdowns).
Sage Holley carried the ball 206 times for 1,545 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore. He sat out football last year to focus on his aspirations in lacrosse, but is now back in the mix.
Based off their track record, Carson Jones (7.6 tackles in 2015), Redmond (7.0) and Landon Cooke (5.2) are defensive players to watch.
The Greenies do field a varsity and JV football program. The season opener for the varsity is Aug. 20 at home against Winston-Salem Atkins. The kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Fayssoux Field.
The first day of school for all Greenies students is Aug. 20. Football isn’t the only sport in Arden that is enjoying big participation numbers. There are 35 prospective soccer players at the moment and 14 more who have expressed interest in cross country.
How much has Christ School grown in a little more than a decade? It only had 160 students back in 2004.
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