Faith Academy football loses to Waco Valor
CAPTION: Faith Academy junior Landon Silvers had more than 400 yards of offense by himself as the Waco Valor Vikings struggled to have an answer for him. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team lost to Waco Valor 78-57 Aug. 21 in the season opener for both teams.
The contest was worthy of two top 10 Division I teams of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
“I knew that they were going to be a really good team,” Flames head coach Jay Silvers. said. “I knew they made it to the state championship game. I knew they lost a couple of seniors who were really good players for them. But I knew the guys that were playing behind them were going to be good players.”
The Flames executed a perfect onside kick recovered by junior Landon Silvers on the first play of the game. Four plays later, senior Wade Dillard tossed the ball to Silvers, who ran in for the one-yard touchdown. Junior Egan Barnes added the two-point kick for the 8-0 lead with 8 minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for the Vikings to answer. Five plays later Valor finished the drive with a four-yard run and added the two-point kick to tie the game at 8-8 with 6:44 left in opening stanza.
Junior Quinton Merlick caught the squib kick, setting the Flames up on their 26-yard line. Silvers ended the five-play drive with a 36-yard touchdown on fourth-and-14 where he refused to go down and ran through two tackles. Sophomore Zach Houy threw a block to spring him down the Faith sideline to the end zone. The one-point pass failed but Faith led 14-8 with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter.
Faith tried another squib kick, but Valor caught it and returned it for a touchdown to take the lead 16-14 in six seconds.
From there, the Vikings scored a couple of unanswered touchdowns when the Flames turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception that allowed Valor to build a 30-14 advantage with 8:41 left in the half.
That’s when the Flames started to mount a comeback.
Silvers got Faith in the end zone on a 60-yard run to cap a three-play drive and trim the deficit to 30-22 with 7:36 left.
But each offense answered the other the rest of the half.
Trailing 54-37 with 1:25 left, Silvers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Houy to cut the deficit to 54-45 at the break.
The Vikings began the third quarter by recovering the squib kick. But the Flames held, forcing Valor to turn the ball over on downs on the Faith 10-yard line.
From there, the Flames marched 72 yards in eight plays capped by a 17-yard Silvers run to pay dirt. Though the two-point kick was blocked, Faith trailed 54-51 with 3:37 remaining in the third stanza.
That’s as close as the Flames would get. Both offenses turned the ball over and the Vikings made enough plays to seal the win.
Silvers had 20 rushes for 258 yards and five touchdowns and completed 9 of 16 passes for 167 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Dillard had seven rushes for 26 yards and two receptions for 17 yards. Junior Graham McGraw caught three passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, while Houy caught three passes for 24 yards and a score.
Defensively, senior Price Rosemond had five tackles and two assisted tackles, while juniors Ronin Burns and Hudson Tatum had six tackles each, while junior Madden Kinnee and Barnes each had four tackles. Silvers had a tackle and fumble recovery.
“Going into it, I knew (the Vikings) were going to be a big team,” Jay Silvers said. “I knew they had some bigger players. I thought our speed would be able to handle that. But they moved really well, they’re well coached, and they formed the walls and hit their blocks most of the game.”
Though the game didn’t go his team’s way, the coach pointed out some positives.
Top of the list is the communication between the offensive players. Quarterback Silvers and McGraw talked about what the defensive back was doing. They decided to cut the route short “to confuse” the defender, which led to a 46-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
“Landon did a great job running the offense, him and Zach and Wade,” the coach said. “They worked really well communicating with one another, especially Landon and Graham. They’ve been playing football now together for two years and they run track together, so they’re good friends. I loved the communication from the offense. I liked that they’re able to see things out there in real time and adjust to it.”
He noted the game also told the Flames where they can improve. The Flames missed 20 tackles, which allowed the Vikings to extend drives and score.
“We have three new guys out there on defense for their first time starting and getting them used to playing with each other out there,” Jay Silvers said. “Practices are a whole lot different than games. It’s all stuff that’s fixable. So it was a good learning experience.”
The offense also must improve, he added.
“Getting our blocks and just holding on to them for a little bit longer,” the coach said. “When it does work, we move the ball pretty well. When it doesn’t, we have to fight for our yardage a little more.”
Faith travels to Leander Classical Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28.
CAPTION: Graham McGraw’s eyes are wide as he outraces the Vikings to get to the end zone on this 34-yard reception in the second quarter to trim the deficit to a one possession game. Photo by Stennis Shotts
