History belongs to the 2024 Providence Christian Storm after beating Landmark Christian 27-24 in the opening round of the 3A-A private school playoffs. It was the program’s first playoffs after having debuted in 2012, and another step forward under second-year coach John Russ, who last year guided the Storm to its first winning season.
The Storm advanced on junior kicker Jacob Shapland’s 30-yard field goal as time expired.
“This is huge,” Russ said. “We’re a young program. I know from my background. I was at Mill Creek and my brother was on the first team to go to the playoffs. My junior year, in 2011, we won our first playoff game and went to the quarterfinals, and ended up going 13-1 back-to-back years. That’s the type of winning culture we’re building.”
The game stayed close throughout. The Storm scored on their opening drive on a 14-yard run by freshman quarterback Michael Miller. A Storm interception led to Shapland’s first field goal and a quick 10-0 lead. By halftime, Providence Christian had tied it at 10.
The score was tied at 24 with four minutes left when the Storm began their game-winning drive, playing for at least a field goal.
“We did a great job driving it down the field and getting to a spot where I thought (Shapland) was really good at,” Russ said. “I’ve seen him drill 35-yarders in practice, and he had that with 40 seconds left. But we ran another play, got a little closer and called times out with three seconds left. I trust our kicker, and he had confidence.”
The Storm were led by Miller, who rushed for 231 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, and was 8-for-22 passing for 129 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Junior Telley Anthony had four catches for 68 yards. Junior Connor Parker caught Miller’s touchdown pass, and freshman Mason Malone’s 30-yard reception on a slant route led to the game-winning field goal.
Senior defensive Tyson Mostatabi’s 70-yard pick-six early in the second half gave the Storm a 17-10 lead.
The Storm (3-8), a No. 21 seed, were 11-point underdogs to No. 12 seed Landmark Christian (7-4), with both teams competing in A Division 1 during the season. In the second round, the Storm will play fifth-seeded Prince Avenue Christian, which competed in 2A, ranked No. 2 in 3A-A private, and are seeking a third-straight championship after winning A-DI the last two seasons.
“It’s going to be tough,” Russ said. They’re No. 2 in the state for a reason. They’re the No. 5 seed because of the power ratings, but (Prince Avenue Christian ninth-year coach Greg Vandagriff) has been there for what seems like a decade, and we’re just so young. We have a freshman quarterback and freshmen receivers. But young teams just play ball, and they don’t really think about certain things like juniors and seniors do, and they’re just going to give everything they’ve got.”
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