Flames not taking 0-2 Heritage lightly
Faith Academy of Marble Falls senior athlete Case Coleman sprinted to the end zone in the 52-7 win against Bulverde Living Rock on Sept. 3. The Flames face Fredericksburg Heritage on Friday, Sept. 10, at home. Photo by Stennis Shotts
Longtime rival Fredericksburg Heritage is visiting the Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Britton Field, 3151 RR 1431 East.
The Eagles (0-2, District 4, Division III six-man, Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) are still searching for their first victory. But Flames head coach Stephen Shipley advises fans not to read too much into the record.
“They’re better than what their scores indicate,” he said. “They lost one of their best players. That was a big blow for them. They still have good athletes and are still going to be good. They lost a couple of close games against really good teams. San Marcos Academy is a good team.”
SMA beat Heritage 44-32 on Aug. 27 with a balanced offense that produced 188 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries and 171 passing yards and three touchdowns on nine completions.
The game the Flames (2-0, District 4, Division II six-man, TAPPS) were especially intrigued by was Heritage’s Week 2 opponent, Hill Country School of Austin, which won 38-36. Hill Country School is in the same district as Faith.
The Knights took a 20-8 lead in the first quarter and led 32-16 at the half. But the Eagles trimmed the deficit to 38-30 headed into the final quarter.
Hill Country School used a balanced offensive attack: a passing game that produced 224 yards and four touchdowns on 10 completions and a running game that garnered 192 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rushes.
“That’s a tell-tale,” Shipley said of Eagles-Knights contest. “They were in the game the whole time.”
Heritage is coached by Tim Shipman, who’s been there for two decades. So his players know the schemes and understand their roles, Shipley said.
“They’re pretty solid across the board. They have a little bit of speed,” he said. “They’ve been running the same thing for years. They throw it, and they take what you give them. I think they’re a better team (than their record says). They’re pretty consistent, and they’re well coached.”