Faith Academy football loses to Fredericksburg Heritage
CAPTION: Senior Andrew Houy continues to be one of the most productive players for his team in the Highland Lakes. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team lost to Fredericksburg Heritage 54-46 Sept. 12.
Head coach Jay Silvers said what stood out the most about his squad.
“The toughness of our team,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing I took away is we would have a mistake, fumble right off at the beginning of the game, and then we get the ball back and we go and score and take the lead. So the toughness of the team – just willing to fight the whole time. They were down by two scores. We got within two points there in the second half.”
Trailing 48-38, the Flames (2-1) got a 13-yard rushing touchdown from senior Andrew Houy. Senior Ben Strmiska added the two-point kick to trim the deficit to 48-46.
But just as they did throughout the game, the Eagles (3-0) answered with a three-yard rushing touchdown to increase the lead to 54-46. Seven of Heritage’s eight touchdowns came from its rushing attack.
The Flames had the ball and were looking for the equalizer in the final minutes of the contest. But the Eagles forced a turnover on downs and then ran out the clock.
“We were making our extra points, and so they missed a few of theirs, and so we were kind of creeping back up, just too little too late kind of thing,” Silvers said. “To be honest with you, I couldn’t even tell you where (the game was won) in that game. It was just you made a mistake or if you didn’t score, and you gave up the ball. You had a pretty (hard time) trying to get the other team to stop.”
The Eagles (3-0) got the scoring started early by recovering a Faith fumble they turned into a 12-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead.
But Faith (2-1) answered thanks to a 20-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Landon Silvers. The two-point kick was good to give the Flames an 8-6 advantage.
But Heritage struck back with a one-yard rushing touchdown and a one-point conversion run for the 14-8 lead.
After a turnover on downs, the score went to 20-8 Heritage on another one-yard rushing touchdown.
Houy responded with a five-yard rushing touchdown. Sophomore Egan Barnes added the two-point kick to trim the deficit to 20-16.
In the second quarter, the Eagles completed a four-yard pass for the touchdown to go up 26-16.
Silvers outran everyone to the end zone from 41 yards out. Barnes nailed the two-point kick to trim the deficit to 26-24.
But Heritage got the score back on a one-yard rushing touchdown and two-point kick to take a 34-24 lead at the half.
Houy scored the only touchdown in the third quarter thanks to a nine-yard run. Junior Wade Dillard caught the three-point pass from sophomore Nick Zarob to trim the deficit to 34-31.
But the Eagles answered with a seven-yard scamper to pay dirt and the two-point kick to extend the lead to 40-3.
Silvers caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Houy and Zarob hit Dillard on the three-point pass to trim the deficit to 42-38.
Heritage scored on a three-yard run to increase the lead to 48-38.
In the final two minutes of the contest, Heritage head coach Tim Shipman, who has been at the helm for two decades, had an answer for everything the Flames wanted to do, Silvers said.
“I know for sure he outcoached me on that part,” he said. “He had his guys set up in the right spots where he kind of knew what I was trying to plan and trying to get our athletes out in the open. And so, it was kudos to him. That’s why he’s always a state title contender every year. Shipman’s a good coach. He kind of just, I guess, knew what I was planning or doing. He had his guys in the right spots, and so I got outcoached the way I saw it.”
Heritage had 33 rushes for 196 yards and completed 9 of 11 passes for 97 yards with an interception and had only one penalty. The Eagles converted 4 of 8 third downs and 2 of 3 fourth downs.
Most of the offensive stats were because of the play of junior Quatro Steward.
Faith had 30 rushes for 189 yards and completed 4 of 9 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown and had four penalties for 61 yards. The Flames converted 2 of 8 third downs and 2 of 5 fourth downs.
Landon Silvers had 11 rushes for 116 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 35 yards and a score. Houy had 18 rushes for 63 yards and three touchdowns and completed 3 of 8 passes for 59 yards and a score. Adam Merlick caught a 24-yard pass and Zarob had a 19-yard reception.
“It was a great game,” the coach said. “It was good to see that we can go up with a pretty good powerhouse team, take them to the wire. That’s a lot of encouragement and a lot to build on to get us ready for district and then get into the playoffs. They played hard. They fought tooth and nail all the way to the end. They didn’t give up, and so I think that speaks a lot about our team and us moving forward. We know we’ve got the toughness and the perseverance to keep fighting, even though we’re down, and so it was good to see that part.”
Faith welcomes the Nueces Canyon Panthers (1-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. The Panthers beat Lohn 46-0 in a contest that ended in the third quarter and lost to Roscoe Highlands 58-54 and to Richland Springs 60-8 in a contest that ended at the half.
