Faith Academy football uses open week to work on mental game before playoffs
Faith Academy senior defensive end Matt Manley (right) lunges toward Temple Central Texas quarterback Benjamin Norman during the Flames' 50-19 on Nov. 1. Photo by Paloma Ortiz
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The Faith Academy football team capped another undefeated regular season with a 50-19 victory against Temple Central Texas Christian on Nov. 1.
But the Flames’ (10-0, 3-0 in Division III District 3) winning streak is actually at 21, dating to their final regular season contest as a six-man team in 2011.
Faith is enjoying an open week before the postseason begins in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, so head coach Russ Roberts decided this was a good time to work on something a little unusual.
“We’re lightening the load on the physical and working more on the mental preparation,” he said. “It’s film study. We have good effort from our kids. Those mistakes were not understanding what we want or missing focus. We’ll look at film and show them. This is how you improve it a little bit.”
He acknowledged the open date came at a good time, noting the roster is down to 30 players. And he believes every athlete would tell him they need a break.
“By week 10, I’ve found there are a lot of kids who can’t take the grind,” he said. “There are at least two or three more weeks of games and with our scrimmages at the beginning of the season, we’ve been working for 14 weeks or three months. High school kids can’t take the constant grind for that period, especially if you’re the type of team that works hard. And we do.”
Roberts said the score against CTC is deceiving. The Lions are a much better team than a 31-point victory indicates, he said.
CTC actually tied the game at 8-8 in the first quarter.
“They alarmed us a little bit, and we realized they could score quickly,” Roberts said. “I said, ‘Guys, we’re in a battle. They came looking for something to make them feel like they could win. They’re not going to stop. And we can’t let them back in.’ I think the kids responded.”
Indeed. The Flames scored the next 42 points and finished the game with 483 yards on the ground.
Faith sophomore Jacob Metcalf led with eight rushes for 143 yards, while junior Royale Brown added 12 carries for 118 yards.
The senior class has won 19 consecutive games that have been played (two wins are from forfeits), while the sophomore class has a 30-game winning streak dating to its days in the eighth grade, Roberts said.
“Our kids are having a good experience,” he said. “People say we’re a small private school, and I can’t argue with that. But I don’t think we have many kids wishing they were somewhere else.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com