Faith Academy football welcomes Giddings Lone Star
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore Madden Kinnee was a menace against Barksdale Nueces Canyon. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team hosts Giddings Lone Star at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29.
The Mustangs (0-2) lost to Austin Royals 84-7 Sept. 5 and to Austin Veritas Academy 54-6 Aug. 29 in games that ended at halftime.
The Flames (3-1) are entering this contest with another decisive victory, 56-6 against Barksdale Nueces Canyon in a contest that ended after the second quarter. Other wins were against Austin Valor North 83-13 and Sugarland Logos Prep 52-41. The lone setback was to Fredericksburg Heritage 54-46.
What made the victory against Nueces Canyon even more remarkable is that the Faith offense was only out the field for 1 minute and 17 seconds, faced only one second down and ran no more than 10 plays.
Faith Head coach Jay Silvers believes the big reason for his team’s success is because of what they did in the months leading to the season starting. The first part was a commitment to the weight room and a strength program. That’s how Silvers explained the lopsided win against Nueces Canyon.
“We’re still doing our weight room,” he said. “These guys have bought into the system. Defensively (they caused) six turnovers, three interceptions and three fumbles. And so the guys in the secondary, they’re locking in with their wide receivers and getting picked. We don’t really get a whole lot of fumbles for us. It’s when teams want to pass on us. We’ve got good secondary guys, and they track the ball really well.”
What made the turnovers even more impressive is that in stature, the Panthers were taller and wider than the Flames, the coach said.
“They’re a big team,” he said. “They’re bigger than we are athlete-size-wise, not school-size-wise. But it took (my players) a second to get through that. And once they realized, ‘like, ‘Oh, we can hit them hard, and they’ll slow down,’ it was good for the defense. It’s not about the scheme. Now it’s about do you physically feel like you can make a play, and I think that’s what makes you feel good.”
No one illustrated that more than Madden Kinnee.
“Our smallest guy on defense had nine tackles,” Silvers said. “He would just put his nose right in there and get after them. So that was good. It’s always good to see that and to have that fearlessness to go in there and do it. So it was good for our defense. Good confidence for them, and that’ll help us into the next couple weeks.”
Silvers was direct when asked what he wants to see from his Flames against Lone Star.
“Keep climbing the ladder, understanding their jobs, responsibilities,” he said. “They did a great job (last week), and we talked about climbing this ladder if we want a district title and then get to the state title. There’s these steps we’ve got to get up, so that’s why we want to keep that momentum going, knowing that these three non-district games is a good time for us to really hone in our skills and sharpen the blades.”
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomores Quinton Merck (8) and Ronin Burns play key defensive roles for the Flames. Photo by Stennis Shotts
