Faith Academy football beats Bulverde Bracken
CAPTION: Faith Academy senior Adam Merlick is a key offensive player for the Flames, who rely on his catching and blocking abilities at receiver. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team shut out Bulverde Bracken 51-0 Oct. 31 in a Division II, District 4 contest of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
The game ended at halftime.
“All aspects of our game worked,” head coach Jay Silvers said. “Offense did a great job moving the ball, defense did a great job stopping them, and special teams created turnovers and had good kicks all night. To be honest with you, I was just proud of all three of them.”
Bracken (3-6, 1-1) did everything it could to get on the scoreboard, but the Flames (8-1, 2-0) accomplished something rare for the second time this season, the coach said.
“I’ve said it before this year,” he said. “Getting a shutout in six-man football is pretty hard to do and our defense was just getting after them and created turnovers when they needed one, when they were trying to score and then just shut them down on the goal line to end the game.”
The Warriors had gotten to the Faith five-yard line but fumbled on the 10. Some drop balls and sacks ended the threat.
It was the second time the Warriors came close to scoring. The first time, they threw the ball in the end zone, but junior Price Rosamond, considered the defensive captain, caught an interception in the end zone.
“For the defense, it pumps them up and the offense just loves getting back out on the field. They run about 3 or 4 plays, and they get in the end zone,” Silvers said. “They don’t feel like they get a ton of time on the field, which is great for them. They love that.”
The Flames scored on all of their offensive possessions to ensure there was no doubt of the outcome.
“They punted to us once,” the coach said. “I would say midfield was where we spent most of the time. When we do our onside kick, they’re pretty close to midfield.”
The Flames leaned heavily on their rushing attack led by sophomore Landon Silvers, junior Wade Dillard and senior Andrew Houy.
“Having Andrew and Landon running the ball, Wade ran the ball well, and so it kind of pulls everybody up trying to stop them,” Jay Silvers said. “And then it helps get our receivers — (senior) Adam Merlick and (sophomore) Graham McGraw — shots down the field. And so Adam caught a couple down the field and a touchdown. Our run game helps open everything else up for us. Wade and Andrew and Landon do a great job on blocking. Graham, who is one our receivers, is probably one of our best blockers for downfield, and those guys just get great blocks. But then you’ve got speed like Landon and Andrew. And they can take off and cut back and they’re hard to tackle.”
The victory sets up a district championship contest against the Flames and San Antonio Lutheran (6-3, 1-1), which beat San Marcos Academy 53-8 Oct. 31 in a game that ended in the third quarter.
If the Flames can win, they’ll successfully defend their district crown. They have won four of the last five district championships.
CAPTION: Faith Academy junior Price Rosemond is the Flames’ defensive leader in many categories and in many ways, including how the Flames kept Bulverde Bracken off the scoreboard. Photo by Stennis Shotts
