Christ Presbyterian Academy will use the memory of last year’s loss to Alcoa in the Class 3A final as a motivator all season starting with the first week of practice.

The Lions are on a good run going 39-4 the past three seasons.

“We’ve had three years of pretty consistent success and last year getting the taste of what it feels like to play in the championship game,” CPA coach Ingle Martin said. “Obviously we played a superior opponent in Alcoa and we’ll look to work at every practice and every week during the season at matching the intensity that we saw in that championship game.”

Martin said every year is rebuilding year for the Lions, who like to go with veteran players.

“We graduated a lot,” Martin said. “Kind of our nucleus each year, we aim to have seniors playing a lot for us. So every year we’ll be replacing a lot, but we’ve got a really good group of seniors.”

Parker Howell, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior, will anchor the offensive and defensive lines at tackle. He has offers from Air Force, Furman, Mercer, and Middle Tennessee State.

“It just fueled the fire, really,” Howell said of last year’s runner-up finish. “A bunch of us juniors and seniors, we’re looking to come back and have a better year this year. We didn’t lose many guys up front on defense and I think our D is going to be stronger.”

Jay Hockaday will be all over the field for the Lions playing quarterback, receiver, running back and linebacker.

“It’s fun getting to do a little bit of everything,” said Hockaday, who has offers from Furman, Mercer, Navy and Wofford.

Martin was looking for disciplined energy during the first week of practice.

“Obviously, we want to see our guys fly around and play with a lot of energy,” Martin said. “And also play within our scheme. I think a lot of time excitement kicks in and guys kind of lose their responsibilities because they want to go hit somebody. We’re looking for energy and a knowledge of our system within that.”