Faith ends playoff drought Nov. 11 against Shiner St. Paul
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — A win against Temple Central Texas Christian last week put the Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools playoffs for the first time in two years.
Now, the key for first-year head coach Stephen Shipley is helping his Flames (4-5 overall, 2-3 Division III District 4) understand that just making the playoffs isn’t enough.
On Friday, Nov. 11, Faith travels to Shiner St. Paul (7-3, 5-1 Division III District 5), 510 CR 348 in Shiner. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
The district runners-up Cardinals, who won the 2015 Class 2A state championship, are led by senior quarterback Austin Barton, who has completed more than 50 passes for more than 500 yards on the season. Junior running back Conor Kresta has more than 600 yards on about 65 carries.
“They lost a lot of good players who were seniors,” Shipley said. “On the flip side, we know what they did last year. So maybe they’ll be overconfident. We went 2-3 in district, so maybe they’ll think there’s not much to reckon with.”
The coach said St. Paul is the most physical team the Flames have faced this season, which is illustrated by its running game with as many as six ball carriers used.
“The quarterback will throw, but they like to pound the ball at you,” he said. “In our district, for the most part, we feel like we face this.”
Defensively, the Cardinals will blitz from all positions and utilize speed to get to the football since there are plenty of one-on-one matchups.
“We have things we can do offensively,” Shipley said. “We always feel like we have great plan. We just have to execute it.”
Both teams played Boerne Geneva, which won Division III District 5. A 39-21 win over St. Paul gave Geneva the district crown. Faith lost to Geneva 44-0 in week two this season.
The most important aspect of the postseason for the Flames, Shipley said, is his players believe they can win. So taking care of the football, not turning the ball over, and winning the special teams battle will be crucial to the outcome, he said.
“We’ll be sharp in all aspects at the beginning,” he said. “We’re looking forward to playing. We’ll be ready. You always want to be the underdogs. We have nothing to lose.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com