Ten eighth-graders suited up for Mt. Juliet Christian Academy on Thursday, Oct. 8, giving the shorthanded Saints their biggest roster of the season in a 37-8 loss at Glencliff.

One of those eighth-graders made an immediate mark. Durail Sterling scored on a rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 31-8. Thomas Sweeney then hit Beckett Norris with a two-point conversion pass.

That was the Saints' only score of the night, as first reported by the Lebanon Democrat. Both teams entered the game winless.

The middle school season had just ended, freeing the 10 eighth-graders to join the high school squad. They were needed. Injuries and fall break thinned the upperclass roster to five players: one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.

MJCA, the smallest football-playing school in Tennessee with 98 students in TSSAA (Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association) enrollment figures, has battled roster problems all season. The Saints lost players over the summer under the TSSAA's new one-time transfer rule and have canceled two games due to injuries. The school forfeited a Week 3 game against Whites Creek because of sickness, injuries and low participation. MJCA also opted out of the TSSAA playoffs for the 2027 and 2028 seasons to gain more scheduling flexibility, as the Lebanon Democrat reported Sept. 23.

"We've got kids in the building right now who are football players, or who are not football players, but who would want to play football if they're not having to go up against some of the competition that we have," coach Brett Ridenour said in September when announcing the playoff withdrawal.

Ridenour praised the sportsmanship of opposing coaches at Glencliff and in recent games. Opposing staffs agreed to running clocks even when the score margin did not require one. By rule, the clock runs continuously in the second half when the lead reaches 30 points or more.

MJCA was on fall break during the week of the Glencliff game. Unlike other Wilson County schools, the Saints still played. They will take their bye the following week when classes resume.

The Saints travel to Friendship Christian on Friday, Oct. 23, for a 7 p.m. kickoff.