Victory Christian to play for its first state championship Friday

Victory Christian has long been a high school basketball power, winning multiple girls and boys basketball state championships.

Friday, the Kings will try to win their first state football title.

The Kings (8-3) will play SouthLake Christian at the Victory Christian stadium in west Charlotte Friday at 7:30 p.m. Victory, in its eighth season, was the top seed in the Division III state playoffs.

Victory beat Trinity Christian 21-12 in the semifinals.

 “The children have grown in all facets of the game, both physically during the offseason in strength training and mentally, in terms of their understanding of how to execute game strategies," said Kings coach Dee Brown. "The team’s camaraderie and accountability for each other is light years from where they were last year.”

Brown's team only has 25 players, but said the team's strong fan base helps the Kings feel like they have more players than that.

 “We only have 25 players," he said, "but it’s 25 of the right childrens. “The fan presence feeds the children’s adrenalin. When fans sacrifice a night to support the children, they play even harder.”