The 2025 Delaware County Christian Knights football team’s season came to an end with a regular-season blowout win against Montrose Area High School by the score of 30-6. 

After going 8-1 in their previous season playing 8-man football, the school decided it was time for the team to move up to an 11-man program in 2025, joining the PIAA’s 1A District I. As a year-one, 11-man program, DC football was not in the Bicentennial League, forcing the Knights to play an independent schedule, which meant any team in the area that had an open game slot for them. Some of these teams included Red Lion Christian Academy (DE), Lansdale Catholic, and Archbishop Carroll High School. Unfortunately, all of these schools compete in much higher classes than the Knights’ 1A program.

Even with a difficult schedule, the Knights fought and managed to end the season with an overall record of 4-5, the exact record as Jenkintown’s football team, which competes in the same division as DC. Unfortunately, through a very complicated tie-breaking procedure, Jenkintown secured the final spot in the District 1 1A playoffs, going on to lose their district playoff game against Morrisville, 42-8. This was particularly disappointing for the Knights, who had defeated the victorious Bulldogs earlier in the season.

Senior Joey Couchara said that his favorite game from the year was DC’s 36-32 win over Morrisville. “It was an amazing atmosphere,” he remarked. “ We were able to go into that game with a chip on our shoulder and prove to the rest of 1A how legit we are, despite our difficult schedule.”

The Knights football team featured four team captains in seniors Christian O’Donnell (#5), Ian Pruessner (#1), and Jesse Payson (#62), as well as junior quarterback Daniel Bartkow (#8). In his first year starting at quarterback, Bartkow threw for 950 yards and 8 touchdowns, as well as rushing for 514 yards and 5 touchdowns. O'Donnell, meanwhile, grinded for 546 scrimmage yards and 7 touchdowns to go along with 80 total tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and two turnovers. In addition, Pruessner accumulated 300 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on offense, as well as recording 60 total tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and five turnovers on defense. Payson, the offensive tackle, led the way up front for the offensive line in a position where stats are nonexistent on paper. 

As Pruessner stated, “I hope I’ve set a foundation for the young guys on this team. Things didn’t go exactly as we had planned this season; however, now that me and the other seniors are leaving, it's up to them now to make a name for this program.” Both Pruessner and Payson have been starters for the Knights for all four years of their career, and with the season coming to an end, it will be interesting to see who will get to take their place going into 2026.

O'Donnell, following his second season ever playing football, exclaimed, “It’s sad to see it come to an end, but football and this team will forever hold a special place in my heart, even if I never put on a helmet again.”

The 2025 Knights football team is now officially history; however, the team seems hopeful for what the future holds in 2026 and beyond.

The Delaware County Christian School football team is in the middle of a significant change this year. After participating in an 8-man league for the last several seasons—including a berth in last year’s championship game—the Knights are now shifting to traditional 11-man football for the first time in nearly a decade.

So far, the Knights have had a rocky start to the current season. After losing their opener to Pequea Valley, 22-12, they fell to Archbishop Carroll, 54-8, and Red Lion Christian Academy, 53-0. Despite a few lopsided losses, the team hopes things are going in the right direction— a trend that began Friday night, September 19, with an exciting 36-32 comeback win over BAL rival Morrisville.

Senior captain Jesse Payson observes improvement every week: “It’s been a rough few weeks, but we’re improving. We’re settling into a new format and adjusting the best we can.”

This switch has also forced a good amount of younger players to step up into bigger roles, demanding more leadership from upperclassmen. “We’ve got a good amount of new guys on the field, and they’re learning quickly,” explains fellow senior captain Christian ODonnell. “We’re going to keep pushing.” 

While practices have been more demanding this year, the players are staying focused on conditioning, learning new positions, and adjusting to the bigger field and a different style of play. Although it has been an adjustment, the team is staying committed to pushing forward. 

For Head Coach Lloyd Hill, this season isn’t only about wins or losses. Instead, both the team and he see this season as an opportunity to grow and to build a program that will play competitively at the 11-man level in the future, marking an important transition year for the team. 

Even with a slow start, excitement still abounds as to what this transition will mean for Delaware County Christian School football. Certainly, the players are aware it isn’t supposed to be easy, so they’re definitely ready for the challenge ahead.