Turnovers hurt Faith in 33-13 loss to Texas Military Institute
JENNIFER FIERRO / STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — Down 25-0 after two quarters of play against Texas Military Institute, Faith Academy of Marble Falls head coach Stephen Shipley stood before his team.
“We’re going to find out what kind of character we have,” he said to the players, just before they retook the field. “The good thing is we saw a lot of improvements, and it’s still a work in progress. We scored in the second half. It was a moral victory in the second half.”
And though the Flames (0-2) lost 33-13, Shipley said he saw enough character and heart from his players to indicate they have plenty on which to build.
“We revamped the second half and put in new things,” he said. “We put a lot of pressure on the defense. Once we got the offense going, that took the pressure off the defense.”
The first was inserting junior Garrett Henderson at quarterback.
He ran for a 15-yard touchdown and found senior Gage Blair, who had not played the sport since the seventh grade, on a 15-yard scoring pass.
“(Henderson) gave us a spark,” Shipley said. “It was our chance to come in and get the game closer.”
Four Faith turnovers marred the first half of play. Shipley said he was pleased with the way the offense was moving the ball, but the turnovers were significant in many ways.
Not only did they come when the Flames were in Eagles territory, which kept points off the scoreboard, they forced the Faith defense to remain on the field much longer than coaches wanted. And with only 17 players suited up, the Flames didn’t have enough time to catch their breaths before returning to the field.
The other factor was TMI was able to sustain offensive drives that started on its end of the field.
“We felt like we shot ourselves in the foot because the defense was on the field too long,” Shipley said. “The defense is having to try to get stops.”
Once Henderson took over at quarterback, the other parts of the offense started to come together, particularly the offensive line.
“Our offensive line is getting better and did some good things,” the coach said. “It’s improved. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Shipley and Henderson had been working together on the quarterback position. Henderson’s natural speed and arm strength gave the Flames a glimpse of what the offense can do.
“It was good for him to have success under his belt,” the coach said. “Garrett made a lot of mistakes but had a lot of positives. He is bracing that position.”
He also praised the work of senior Braden McBryde, who went to tight end and helped the offense find a rhythm.
“I’m proud of Braden,” he said.
Faith will host San Antonio St. Gerard’s at 7:30 p.m. Sept 16 at Pony Stadium, 1511 Pony Circle Drive in Marble Falls.
jfierro@thepicayune.com