Flames to take on TAPPS’ No. 1 team

And standing in Rockwall Heritage Christian’s way is Faith Academy.

Heritage, ranked No. 1 in the state in six-man football, enters the contest with experience, talent and a desire to claim what was missed last year. 

Heritage head coach Robert Huckabee has a 77-19 record in the nine years he has been at the school.

“He has a program established,” Flames head coach David Denney said. “The good thing is we get to play a team like that. Our kids get to see what it’s like.”

The Eagles enter the game with an 8-2 record. They lost their last game of the regular season to Greenville Christian, 70-40, Nov. 7.

At least 20 players are on the Eagles roster. Faith Academy lists 12.

“They have six players who are four-year starters on both sides of the ball,” Denney said. “There’s not much they haven’t seen. They’re going to be able to adjust. They have some thoroughbreds.”

The Eagles are led by quarterback Zach Read, who was an all-district player last season. 

Heritage is capable of scoring close to 70 points a contest with Read throwing about six touchdown passes. 

Read also lines up in the secondary and has a nose for the football. He has intercepted passes and returned them for touchdowns. 

Offensively, Read has a slew of teammates who can catch the ball including Josh Peschell, Josh Points and Noah Ward. 

“Every one of them are athletes,” the coach said. “There are six guys who can all run. They’re quick, they have experience and they know what they’re doing.”

Heritage will line up in a variety of offensive formations, Denney said, which gives the Eagles the option of running or passing.

“We’ll have to defend the whole field,” he said.

Heritage’s running game concerns him the most, the Flames skipper said. 

“If you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to stop anything,” he said. “If all they can do is throw, then you can dictate what they do. That’ll make them go to the passing game to beat you.”

The Flames will be led by quarterback Ryan Roberts and running back Will Diamond. Both should have each reached 1,000 yards passing and rushing for the season.

Faith enters the game after beating Cedar Park Summit, 74-26, Oct. 31 to secure a playoff berth. 

“We feel like if we can run the ball, it opens up the passing game for us,” Denney said. “We try to be balanced in what we do.”

He has a lot of respect for Heritage, he said.

“They look like they’re in a different league than us,” he said. “They have a program. We have our work cut out for us.”

Faith’s advantage could be its special teams, the coach said.

“I don’t think that’s a big part of their game,” he said. “We might have an edge. Our kids might be better prepared in that area. They rely on offense and defense to do the job.”

Denney said he and Huckabee discovered a rule that allowed the higher-seeded team to host the first-round game. Therefore, the contest will be played in Rockwall Saturday at 2 p.m.

The good news, he said, is they will play on a grass field.  

The Flames also have other factors in their favor, the coach said, which include believing in the schemes and working hard. 

Because the Flames are playing the No. 1 team in TAPPS’ six-man football, some are predicting the 45-point mercy rule will be used, Denney said. However, Faith is looking at it as an opportunity.

“In order to be the best, you have to beat the best,” he said. “I know a lot of people are not giving us much hope. I think we might surprise people.”