Destiny Christian, ‘a thing of the future,’ earns playoff win over Christian Brothers
The Destiny Christian Academy football team is working to distance itself from the shadow of its previous name — and doing so by winning on the field.
“We want to establish a new culture,” said co-head coach Antuan Simmons. “Capital Christian is a thing of the past, and Destiny Christian is a thing of the future. We’re not trying to keep any of the old traditions. We’re set on making our way and our own path moving forward.”
A step in that direction came with a resounding playoff win Friday night on the road over Christian Brothers, 28-7, with the Lions improving to 10-2 after a 2-8 campaign in their last year as Capital Christian in 2023. This is the first year with their new name, colors and mascot.
The win moves the Lions to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals against top-seeded Oakdale, which advanced after beating Woodcreek on Friday, 35-14. Vanden and West Park will play on the other side of the bracket.
Destiny Christian’s win didn’t come as easy as the 21-point margin might indicate. They hit halftime up just 6-0 against Christian Brothers’ stout defense led by linebacker Josiah Campbell, who had been among the state’s leading tacklers throughout the season. The Falcons had freshman Omar Johnson Jr. at quarterback after losing their junior starter Deakon Holden in early October to a shoulder injury against Woodcreek.
Destiny Christian’s first points came on a 75-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Dallas Munn late in the second quarter. Christian Brothers took a 7-6 lead after a long drive to start the third quarter ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from standout running back Jay Cummings.
But that would be the only points Destiny Christian allowed the home team to score, outscoring Christian Brothers 22-0 from the midpoint in the third quarter. It started when the Lions got a rushing touchdown from senior Dallas Bey, who wears No. 77 and is listed as a guard on offense and tackle on defense.
“Dallas Bey, that was big time,” Simmons said. “He’s been a linchpin in our defense the whole year. He does a phenomenal job, has a lot of tenacity, and we try to feed the big guys when we can.”
Three snaps later, Bey had an interception that set up a 5-yard touchdown run for Caleb Hill that pushed the score to 21-7.
Destiny Christian’s final points came on a 48-yard catch and run on a screen pass from Munn to wideout Nehemiah Simmons.
“The score was 28-7, but really in the first half it was a dog fight,” Munn said. “And we came together at halftime and we said, ‘This could be our last game.’ We got to bring it together. And just came out and we rallied.”
Munn was lost early in the season last year to a shoulder injury but has rebounded as a senior. He came into Friday’s game completing 67% of his passes for 2,551 yards with 23 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns to rank second on the team.
“Some people had a little bit of doubts about us changing our name and changing everything but as,” Munn said. “But my job as a quarterback was just to be a leader and just keep everybody together.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 10:44 PM.
