Head coach Ronnie Cottrell and assistant coach David Wilson have coached at Troy University and Florida State University under the direction of the great Bobby Bowden. Through those experiences, they learned a lot about football and developing devoted players.
Three years ago, Lighthouse Christian College started a basketball team; two years ago, it started a baseball team; and now, in 2024, it has begun a successful college football program, too.
“Starting from the beginning has been very interesting and very hard, but we’ve had a lot of success, and our players have really enjoyed the year,” Cottrell said.
From the beginning, all three coaches—Ronnie Cottrell, David Wilson, and Bob Schneider—knew how great an opportunity this was, but they also knew how difficult it would be to start a program from the ground up.
“If it was going to work, it just had to be the right time,” Cottrell said. “By the grace of God, we have an outstanding group of young men that play at our school, and I can only give credit to God for how successful it has been.”
Lighthouse Christian College’s focus is on recruiting locally.
“We want to provide opportunities for local players who might not have an opportunity to play college football, an opportunity to stay home and play, or for players that may not want to go to another area,” Cottrell said.
LCC football is mostly focused on recruiting young men from Pensacola’s 850 and the 251 area code, which covers Mobile and South Alabama.
It’s special when parents can come to see their kids play every weekend. This has been especially beneficial for the kids in Pensacola.
The coaches have received a great response from local coaches and students.
“We went into this having to sell a vision of what it could be. We’ve done that since last February, and we’ve had over 150 kids come to see us looking for an opportunity,” Wilson said.
In the beginning, people had many questions—how are you going to get started, who are you going to play, and where are you going to play?
“Now, the high school coaches are saying, ‘Hey, y’all have accomplished something here that’s really neat.’ They’re on our side now, and I think we’ll keep a lot of these kids around here closer to home and give them the opportunity to play college football,” Wilson added.
Psalms 37:4 has become the team’s key Bible verse: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
“There are so many kids who have wanted to play college football, but because of the NCAA portal and other reasons, the opportunities have just not come for some players in this area,” Cottrell said. “We want to provide that.”
Lighthouse Christian College hopes to become an NAIA football program in the future, playing on the same level as the University of West Florida.
Being a startup, many had low hopes for the Makos’ inaugural season. Everyone kept saying, “You’re not going to win a game.” However, the team has won all five of the games they’ve played so far. Hurricanes have canceled and postponed some of their games.
“And most of all, our players are from right here in this area and were high school seniors last year,” Cottrell said. “It has been a blessing for us.”
“The most exciting thing is the visitors we’re getting at games. We’re averaging 60 to 70 high school seniors coming to see our games,” Wilson said. “We approach recruiting the same way we did at Florida State and Mississippi State and every other team we’ve coached. And it’s been very encouraging to have those types of crowds showing up to our games.”
Bob Snyder is the Makos’ defensive coordinator and has been a huge asset to the team. He brings his recruiting background to help build the future of LCC football.
Forrest Ward is the recruiting coordinator for LCC and helps on game days, organizing visits with prospective players. The response has been amazing.
The team practices at East Milton Park, which Lighthouse recently renovated and is improving for the community. The Makos play their home football games at the main Lighthouse Private Christian Academy in Gulf Breeze.
Lighthouse Christian College is an online and in-person accredited school offering innovative education with a non-denominational faith-based framework. The college has tremendous business and real estate programs, which provide the opportunity for hands-on research while teaching students entrepreneurship and innovation processes.
“The future is bright at Lighthouse Christian College,” Cottrell said.
“I’m excited to see what this staff can do with a full year,” Cottrell said. “Forrest Ward is doing an outstanding job right now at preparing a list of local guys. But we’ve got to be patient because programs are not built in a day.”
Anyone interested in playing sports at Lighthouse Christian College can go to lighthousecollege.us and complete a questionnaire.
God has been a huge part of Lighthouse’s success. And the opportunity to start this football program has been covered in prayer.
“God is all over this program,” Cottrell said. “It’s amazing to see kids come to us, and we can’t even figure out how they came to us.”
“We have been able to overcome so many hurdles,” Wilson added. “We couldn’t do it on our own. You get discouraged, but the Holy Spirit has worked very long hours on us, and that enables us to overcome.”