WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Led by head coach Andre Kates, Rock Creek Christian football is entering its third season as a program.

“I tell our staff when we have staff meetings that I want to continue to be top three in our area,” Kates said. “We’re at five now and we have more steps to go so I told the players we’re gonna crank it up a tad bit and they know the standard and I think they’re prepared for it.”

Last season, the Eagles started 0-2, before finishing the year 6-1 over their last seven games.

The Eagles have high expectations for 2023 and expect to once again power their offense through the air.

The squad is headlined by two stud wide receivers, who both have multiple division I college offense, junior Jayden Kitchens and sophomore Giyahni Kontosis.

“We got a lot of passing in our playbook, so most of the time we’re passing,” Kitchens told DC News Now. “We have a great receiver core, so I don’t know who is gonna stop us.”

Rock Creek Christian is scheduled to open its season Friday, August 25, playing St. Mary’s Ryken at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia.

“We all gotta be leader. We gotta all come together as a team and we all just gotta step up,” Kontosis said. “You know we’re gonna achieve our goals and our goal is to win games.”