Faith Academy football shines in scrimmage
CAPTION: Faith Academy senior Andrew Houy runs to the end zone to score the first of many touchdowns for the Flames against Austin Valor South Aug. 22. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team will play Sugar Land Logos Prep at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at Bryan Allen Academy.
It’s the first Texas high school football game of the 2025 season.
The Flames will enter the contest with lots of momentum thanks to a commanding performance in a scrimmage against Austin Valor South Aug. 22 that included about eight series in the controlled portion of the scrimmage and a live quarter. Each offense was guaranteed 10 plays no matter the down or distance during the controlled portion.
“I feel good about this season, I feel good about our guys,” head coach Jay Silvers said. “They know they have to keep working. This is the first step on the ladder. We’ll keep working and great things will happen in the end.”
The Flames set the tone early on the second play.
Senior Andrew Houy took the toss and began running down the Flames sideline when a Valor defender went to tackle him. But Houy spun in his grasp, sat on him then jumped up and kept running. Whistles didn’t sound until after he scored.
His teammates — both on the field and on the sidelines — celebrated the run that Houy’s grin signaled was simply another day on the field for him.
In all Faith scored four touchdowns in 10 plays with their offensive starters to begin the event. In the live quarter, the Flames scored three touchdowns in seven plays with Houy scoring seven. In all Faith scored 12 touchdowns.
Valor didn’t score its first touchdown until reserves took over. In all the Falcons scored four times.
“They understand their jobs and they know what they need to get done,” Silvers said.
While the coach was pleased with what he saw, he believes it’s simply a starting point.
“There’s a lot of things we have to work on,” he said. “I see the team gelling as a whole. I saw a lot of great things out of our defense. Offensively, we have things we need to work on. I feel a little better at this spot than last year.”
One task is improving on offensive blocking throughout the field. While the Flames scored a lot and often, some touchdowns came because the ball carrier busted through arm tackles.
Defensively, the Flames were equally superior. What made this unit so good is the number of solo tackles all over the field. Just when Valor thought it would get a lot of yards on one play, a Flame came through the line of scrimmage and wrapped up the ball carrier to bring him to the turf.
“The containment part, they did a good job of keeping everything in the center of the field,” Silvers said. “Even our new guys came in and did a great job of containment. It all starts in the weight room. We want to be strong and fast and are doing individual drills to do that.”
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore Austin Edwards sacks the Valor South quarterback and will celebrate the sack with senior teammate Sawyer Jones. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
