Faith Academy QBs shine during 6 on 6
CAPTION: Junior Nick Zarob made the most of his opportunity as the signal caller in throwing his teammates open during his series. Staff photos by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team hosted its first night of 6-on-6 play June 2 with a win against Round Rock Christian 28-12.
Lightning was detected and Flames head coach Jay Silvers cut the second game short and cancelled the final contest of the night. Each of the three teams, which also included the Austin Royals, was supposed to play two games.
Still, the Flames were in top form and Silvers said his offense scored on all four of their possessions during the 30-minute, running clock contest. Unlike 11-man’s version of 7 on 7, these teams decided to use the entire six-man field of 80 yards. In 7 on 7, teams play on a 45-yard field that allows two games to be played at once.
“it was just for more reps,” Silvers said. “The boys have a little more time instead of being on a short field and going that route.”
The other surprise is that each series featured a different quarter. Sophomore Zach Houy was first followed by juniors Nick Zarob and Landon Silvers and senior Wade Dillard.
“We have four guys who can throw the ball,” the coach said. “So I rotated all four of them. I had an idea of how I wanted to use them. But Zach worked with our returners from last year that were on the offensive side of the ball that spent a lot more time on the offensive side of the ball and then Nick, same thing, and then Wade was my third one, Landon was the fourth. It just built up to that.”
The Flames went with their normal passing plays with one key difference. The summer is about passing the football instead of running it, therefore, instead of having a running back, the Flames had four receivers. But what Silvers wanted to see mirrored much of what he wants during the fall.
“I’m really just looking at route recognition, throwing receivers open instead of waiting for receivers to get open,” he said. “They did a pretty good job in general of doing that, not throwing into tight coverages, but throwing to the spot that only our guy could get it. I know Wade and Landon did a really good job with those two aspects of it.”
Which isn’t surprising since they may be the most experienced returners in 2026. But Jay Silvers noted those veterans weren’t the only ones to shine.
“Zach did a really good job of leading the wide receivers, getting them to chase the ball down,” the coach said. “I build my team on track athletes and we use a lot of speed. So I trust those guys that they’re going to get out there.”
Of course it also helps to have receivers who are good at catching the football, and the Flames have that, too. Juniors Egan Barnes, Graham McGraw and Landon Silvers all made great catches in traffic to keep the chains moving.
“Egan did a great job as did Graham and Landon running out there at receiver,” Jay Silvers said. “Even Wade, our big guy, did a really good job. He’s building speed working with (assistant track coach) Cedric Griffin and the offseason stuff.”
The Flames will host two more Tuesdays – June 9 and 30. Games begin at 6 p.m. at Britton Field on the Faith campus.
CAPTION: Sophomore Zach Houy was one of four Faith Academy quarterbacks to lead touchdown drives on the first night of 6-on-6 play June 2.
