Next challenge for Flames is keeping competitive fire burning
MARBLE FALLS — For almost a quarter Nov. 2, the Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team’s undefeated season was threatened against Temple Central Texas Christian.
Central Texas Christian scored on a 2-yard run to go up 6-0 in the first period.
PHOTO: Faith Academy of Marble Falls head coach Russ Roberts (center) talks to his players after the Flames’ win against Temple Central Texas Christian on Nov. 2. Courtesy photo
After Faith stopped the two-point conversion, Flames senior Brian Freeman ran the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and added an extra point to give the Flames (10-0) a 7-6 lead.
But with two minutes left in the quarter, Central Texas Christian scored on a 4-yard touchdown to regain the lead, 12-7.
That held up until Faith senior Jason Byrd ran for a 52-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in the half. Senior Seth McAnally completed the two-point pass to senior Jake Diamond to give the Flames a 15-12 lead that they never relinquished en route to a 44-26 victory.
With the win, Faith captured the Division III District 4 championship in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools and will host an area-round playoff game next weekend at Pony Stadium, 1511 Pony Circle Drive.
The threat, head coach Russ Roberts said, came at a good time.
“They made us work for it,” he said. “We were behind for the first time this year. … And we did a lot of soul searching.”
He saw his players motivate and challenge one another and stay committed to their goals.
“I really liked the way our kids responded,” Roberts said. “Mentally, they said we’re not going to settle for this. Some of them verbally said it, they actually said it out loud. They said it on the field and they said it at halftime. And they said we’re not going to let each other down, we’re going to win this ball game, and they did.”
And it came just in time as the Flames prepare for a playoff run after Giddings State School forfeited a game that was supposed to be played Nov. 8.
So the next hurdle, the coach said, isn’t preparing the team for the postseason. As a six-man squad, the Flames made numerous trips to the playoffs. Roberts said his biggest challenge is emphasizing the importance of not being satisfied with the regular-season outcome.
“That is a really difficult job,” he said.
In 40 years of coaching, Roberts has never coached an undefeated team. But he’s come close.
As coach of Bartlett in 1979, he and his team were 9-1 entering the playoffs. Bartlett won its first playoff game 63-9.
“Boy, I thought, ‘Man, we’re on our way to a state championship,’” Roberts said. “What I didn’t know was that we had just broken the school record for wins, we had just won the first playoff game in like 14 years. Basically, (the players) were satisfied (with the season.)”
That showed in an 8-7 loss to Hull-Daisetta the following week, he said.
He went to his players and asked what happened.
“I found out that they were content, they were happy,” he said.
So Faith coaches have repeatedly told the players that this group is special and that not being hungry for success is dangerous, especially in the postseason, Roberts said.
“The seniors will never have a chance to duplicate (this success) again, and the juniors and sophomores and freshmen may not,” he said. “So you have to make the most of the opportunities we’ve been given, God has placed us in a great situation. He’s given us the team, he’s given us the opportunity. And if we’re satisfied, it’s nobody’s fault but our own. We’ve got to keep playing and keep working.”
The players are heeding their coach’s warning.
“I expect us, if we stay on the path that we’re on, and we keep working and we keep believing in each other and keep working as a team, I believe we will go all the way,” junior lineman Mitch Earwood said.
Junior Cole Madigan said the Flames’ success goes back to the brotherhood the players feel.
“A lot of the guys, since we’re such a small school, we’re so close,” he said. “A lot of us are best friends outside the school, so when we come out here, it’s like your brother is kind of next to you. Keeping him from getting hit and put on his butt and fighting to the very end is kind of more important, so that’s why we’re so close.”