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Joshua Springs Ready for the Championship!

The Joshua Springs Lightning will play for the CIF Southern Section 8-Man Division I title this Friday night at Lightning Field in Yucca Valley, California. The Lightning have one of the most successful programs in their division winning 82 of their last 102 games, including four back to back Agape League championships, five undefeated regular seasons and three trips to the divisional championships in the last 7 years, this year will be their fourth trip.

The Lightning have still not won the big one in their three previous attempts and that will be the team's focus in preparing for this week's game. The Lightning will be playing against the Faith Baptist Contenders who come into the game 12-0 on the season and will be the best team the Lightning have played all year. The last time these two teams met was in the 2005 championship game where the Contenders won by the score of 49-26. The Contenders have been known as the best team in 8-Man football over the last 4 years having only lost 1 game in that time period. The Lightning are excited about the opportunity to win against such a great opponent.

The Contenders have a powerful offense averaging 52 points a game while their defense has only allowed 10 pts a game. They play very well on the road and have several quick running backs and a very good quarterback. Joshua Springs also has a powerful offense averaging 52 points a game and their defense has only allowed 12 pts a game. These teams are very evenly matched.

The Lightning offense is ran by Senior Jesse Frazer who has passed for 873 yds and 20 TD's while also rushing for 479 yds and 8 TDs. Joshua Springs has a powerful running attack lead by senior Eddie "Nitro' Nixon who has ran for 1576 yds and 27 TDs. Nixon averages 9.9 yds per carry. Junior fullback Cole Roberts has ran for 430 yds and 9 TDs. Top Receivers for the Lightning are seniors TE/WR Derek Brogdon who has 278 yds receiving and 9 TD's, TE Boomer Arnold who has 159 yds and 2 TD's, Nixon who has 158 yds and 4 TD's and TE Jon Krapivkin who has 105 yds and 2 TD's.

The Lightning defense is lead by senior Alex Carter who has 139 tackles; Brogdon, Arnold and Krapivkin all have over 90 tackles as well. The Lightning have created 37 sacks this year along with 15 interceptions, 19 fumbles and 2 blocked kicks. Arnold leads all defenders with 11 sacks and Krapivkin leads with 6 interceptions. One thing is for sure; there will be a winner and a loser in Friday night's game. The Lightning hopefuls believe that this will be their year to finally capture the championship and ring for each player. This Lightning team has more seniors than any team they have had so the chances look good.

The pre-game festivities start at 6:00PM with the snack bar opening, the pep band pre-game show, singing of the National Anthem and the longest spirit tunnel of the year. Plan on arriving early and getting a good seat, the last championship game had over 2500 attendees. The game itself will start promptly at 7:00PM. For more information contact the school office at 760-365-3599.

Go Lightning!