Flames heat up the night with 46-21 playoff win
MARBLE FALLS — If Faith Academy of Marble Falls was looking for a signature win on the season, the Flames earned it Nov. 16 when they hosted the Cypress Christian School Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
Faith (11-0) jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, but almost saw it crumble as the Warriors began battling their way back. But the Flames didn’t crumble and finished off Cypress Christian School, 46-21.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Faith head coach Russell Roberts said. “They gave us their best. I thought we had a hard time covering the passing game, but our boys settled down and finished what they started.”
Faith senior Jason Byrd, who ran for two touchdowns on the night and threw for another, said the key to the win really came down to interceptions.
“They really tested our secondary,” he said about the Warriors. “But then we started intercepting the ball. I couldn’t believe how many interceptions we had.”
In fact, the first Faith score came when Matt Manley picked off Cypress Christian Andrew Wilson’s pass and took it 53 yards for a Flames’ touchdown with 4:37 left in the first quarter.
Along with Manley, Brian Freeman and Jacob Metcalf snatched Warrior passes. Metcalf grabbed two of them.
“Big plays really helped us,” Roberts said.
Faith’s Jake Diamond took a Warrior kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in the first half. Then, with the Warriors in a third-and-goal situation on the Faith 6-yard line, Flames’ defensive lineman Brendan Cockcroft sacked Wilson for a nine-yard loss, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the 15-yard line.
Wilson’s next pass sailed incomplete, giving the ball back to the Flames.
“It was just an incredible game,” Faith quarterback Austin Ellis said. “This is my first year at Faith Academy, and I couldn’t be surrounded with a better group of teammates. I couldn’t do anything if it wasn’t for my offensive line. It’s all them.”
The Flames play the winner of the game between Hallettsville and Sacred Heart-Fort Worth Calvary in the next round.