Finding Faith, Family and Opportunity at CSCS
The numbers tell you that Fisher Tenpas can play quarterback.
More than 2,000 passing yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior. An undefeated start to his senior season. League-leading passing numbers. National Christian School Athletic Association recognition. Local media coverage. And, most recently, recognition by KRDO13’s Friday Night Blitz as a Player of the Week.
But spend a few minutes talking with Fisher, and you begin to understand that his CSCS story is about much more than football.
It’s about faith.
It’s about belonging.
And it’s about giving a student-athlete a place to pursue what God has put in front of him.
Fisher is a Sports-Only student at Colorado Springs Christian Schools. He doesn’t spend every school day in a CSCS classroom, but when he talks about what has made his experience here meaningful, football isn’t the first thing he mentions.
His faith is.
“My favorite part about CSCS is that we are a Christian school and we can freely talk about our faith. The sports are pretty good. We [the football team] have been pretty good. That’s fun.”
It’s a simple answer, delivered with a little humor, but it says a lot about the young man wearing No. 12 for the Lions.
Fisher came to CSCS looking for an opportunity to play football. What he found was a place where he could compete at a high level while being part of a community where his faith didn’t have to stay on the sidelines.
From Freshman Opportunity to Senior Leader
Long before the passing statistics, media attention and Friday night recognition, there was a freshman getting an opportunity.
Ask Fisher for his favorite CSCS football memory, and he goes all the way back to his first year with the program.
He remembers getting the chance to start at quarterback against Ellicott as a freshman.
The Lions won 44–8.
Years later, that game still stands out.
There is something fitting about that being the memory Fisher chooses.
Before anyone knew what his high school career would become, someone gave a freshman an opportunity to step onto the field and lead.
He took it.
Now, as a senior, Fisher has become the quarterback younger Lions can look toward.
Finding a Family
Joining a new athletic community isn’t always easy. Especially when you’re entering through a different path than many of your teammates.
But when Fisher was asked what his transition into CSCS as a Sports-Only athlete has been like, his answer was immediate:
“It’s been good. I’ve definitely been welcomed in. It’s felt like a family and I’ve had a lot of fun.”
It’s felt like a family.
That may be one of the most meaningful statements in Fisher’s story.
Because CSCS Athletics isn’t simply trying to build successful teams. We want to build a community where student-athletes are seen and known, where they are challenged, encouraged, developed and given a place to belong.
Fisher’s experience is one example of what that can look like.
Sports-Only may describe how he enrolls at CSCS.
It doesn’t define how he belongs here.
He’s a teammate. A senior. A quarterback. A Lion.
The Numbers Are Getting Attention
Of course, Fisher’s play on the field is increasingly difficult to overlook.
As a junior in 2025, Tenpas completed 120 passes for 2,068 yards and 23 touchdowns. His performance earned him a spot on the NCSAA Central U.S. Super-Region Team at quarterback.
He has carried that momentum into his senior season.
Through the four games currently included on MaxPreps’ 1A South Central passing leaderboard, Fisher has completed 48 of 76 passes for 850 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Those 850 yards currently place him first in the conference in passing.
His opening night offered an early glimpse of what was ahead.
Against Holyoke, Fisher threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns, helping CSCS open the season with a 49–14 victory. MileHigh Prep Report highlighted Tenpas’ performance as the Lions accumulated 469 yards of total offense.
Then came Woodland Park.
CSCS fell behind 9–0 on the road, but Fisher remained composed. He connected with Silas Lambert for a touchdown and later found Dom Gillin for a 74-yard score as the Lions came back to win 22–16.
Afterward, Fisher explained his approach to The Gazette:
“You just have to be calm before every play.”
That calm has helped guide a CSCS team that has continued finding ways to win.
Following victories over Rye and Ellicott, the Lions defeated Byers 45–6 to move to 5–0.
And people outside the CSCS community are beginning to notice.
On September 25, KRDO13 Sports Director Rob Namnoum selected Fisher as his Friday Night Blitz Player of the Week. The recognition came during a memorable night of coverage for CSCS, with KRDO also featuring the football program and school community throughout its Friday Night Blitz coverage.
For the freshman who once simply hoped for an opportunity to start a football game, it has been quite a journey.
The Dream Beyond Friday Night
But Fisher isn’t ready for that journey to end when his senior season does.
When asked what he hopes comes next, his answer again circles back to both football and faith.
“My goal is to play football in college, hopefully at a Christian school. I don’t know where yet, but hopefully I can continue to play.”
That’s the dream.
Somewhere beyond the remaining Friday nights of his senior year, Fisher hopes there is another locker room. Another huddle. Another opportunity to take a snap.
And, if possible, another Christian community where faith and football can continue to be part of the same story.
That’s where Fisher’s story becomes bigger than one quarterback.
Why Supporting CSCS Athletics Matters
Behind every student-athlete is a story still being written.
There is a freshman waiting for someone to give him his first start.
There is an athlete entering a new school community wondering whether there will be a place for her.
There is a senior hoping the work he’s putting in today might create an opportunity to compete tomorrow.
And there are hundreds of CSCS athletes learning what it means to prepare, compete, lead, respond to adversity and represent Jesus Christ through athletics.
Supporting CSCS Athletics means helping create those opportunities.
It means giving coaches the resources to develop student-athletes well.
It means creating programs where athletes can pursue excellence.
It means making it possible for families and grandparents to watch from afar, for athletes to have quality film that can help them pursue opportunities at the next level, and for the stories unfolding across CSCS Athletics to be seen.
Most importantly, it means building an athletic community where a student can arrive through a program like Sports-Only and eventually say:
“I’ve definitely been welcomed in. It’s felt like a family.”
That’s the kind of athletic program we want to continue building.
Every Lion Has a Story
Fisher’s story isn’t finished.
There are games left to play. Goals left to pursue. College decisions still somewhere on the horizon.
We don’t yet know where football will take him.
But we know where part of the journey happened.
It happened here.
At CSCS, a freshman was given an opportunity.
A Sports-Only athlete found a family.
A quarterback was given room to develop.
A young man found a place where he could compete while freely talking about his faith.
And now that young man is dreaming about what’s next.
That’s why we believe in investing in CSCS Athletics.
Because behind every uniform is a person.
Behind every number is a story.
And behind every opportunity is a community willing to say, we see you, we know you, and we believe what God is doing through you matters.