Faith Academy football begins quest for state Aug. 3
CAPTION: Senior Wade Dillard (left) listens to instructions on the next drill from head coach Jay Silvers during a summer strength-and-conditioning workout. The two will be back on the field Aug. 3 for the start of training camp. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team returns to Britton Field for fall training camp that begins Monday, Aug. 3.
Head coach Jay Silvers, who is entering his third season in the role, wasn’t shy about what he wants to see on the first day.
“I just want to see some excitement and getting ready to go,” he said. “We have close to 25 players, so we do have a true varsity and a true (junior varsity), and I want to see the boys work to see who wants to be on the varsity team and the ones that still just need that extra work to be able to work up there, to get up to that level. And so I’m just hoping they all come in excited. They did all summer. They did a great job doing their summer workouts.”
The Flames averaged 21 players in attendance for summer strength-and-conditioning sessions. They met three times a week in June and July.
“I was excited to see that,” the coach said. “That tells me they have some big goals this year.”
Faith went 11-2 overall last season and captured the Division II, District 4 championship of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. The season ended in a loss to eventual state champion Huntsville Alpha Omega 76-30 in a state semifinal game.
“This year we want to take it and win it all at the state level,” Silvers said.
The team is built around three returners – seniors Wade Dillard and Price Rosamond and junior Landon Silvers, the coach’s son.
Dillard and the younger Silvers are the primary offensive weapons, while Rosamond is the defensive commander. And while it’s evident the Flames will go as they go, the coach also pointed out he wants to see some energy when it comes to winning a starting job.
“We have guys on the team who have been starting for three years, four years,” he said. “We want them to not be lax in that comfort of like ‘well, I’ve been starting for the last couple of years. Nobody’s going to take my position.’ And for us to have as many athletes as we have now that can push these guys to get even better with the risk of maybe they don’t start that game, that’s looming in the backs of their head, so they’re going to push themselves a little further. So having these younger guys that will push our older guys that, one, makes the younger guys better, but it also makes the veterans better athletes, and just helps the team out.”
In addition strength and conditioning, the Flames also participated in 6-on-6 play for several weeks, which will prove vitally important.
The Flames will go right into the regular season a week earlier than the public schools. Faith welcomes Waco Vanguard at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21. That’s because of how TAPPS constructed its playoff schedule. The playoffs begin the week of Nov. 5-7.
The earlier start to the season means Faith won’t have a scrimmage before facing Vanguard.
“We had plenty of scrimmages during the summer to kind of give us an idea of what we have to work on,” the coach said. “I feel confident our boys will be fine.”
