Flames adjust to scrappy Heritage in 74-50 win
Faith Academy of Marble Falls senior Justin Mottle (15) catches a pass in the Flames’ 74-50 victory against Fredericksburg Heritage on Sept. 10. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team earned a decisive 74-50 win over rival Fredericksburg Heritage on Sept. 10 and needed to do more than make simple adjustments to get it.
The Eagles (0-3, District 4, Division III six-man, Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) scored first and immediately got the attention of the Flames (3-0, District 4, Division II six-man, TAPPS).
“They came out real quick and scored,” Faith head coach Stephen Shipley said. “They exposed a lot of weaknesses in our defense, which is good because we needed to know what to change. They’re a very well-coached team. Their coaches had a great game plan.”
It also didn’t help that four of the core defensive Flames were limited in practices leading up to the contest because of illness and bruises. Even Faith’s special teams had some struggles to overcome
“We gave up some easy touchdowns,” Shipley said. “There was a tipped ball (Heritage) caught and ran in. They had kickoff returns. We fumbled one inside the 20. We fumbled one of the kickoffs.”
Meanwhile, Heritage’s defense refused to allow Faith to get its rushing attack going. So Shipley threw out the game plan and decided to go to the Flames’ passing game en route to a 36-22 lead at the half.
“We scored every time we got the ball,” he said. “We made adjustments. We made deep passes for four touchdowns. I think it was very good to see those (defensive) challenges, to get some of those things exposed. They played a really good game.”
The coach used this contest as an example of why records can be deceiving. Going into the matchup, Shipley cautioned people not to take Heritage lightly.
“With all the hype being there and the target on us, they came in ready to play,” he said. “I told the kids that it’s good we were able to outscore them and there’s going to be times when it’s going to be a track meet and we need to outscore them. We gave up some touchdowns we shouldn’t have. They were ready to play, and we had athletes with the ability to score.”
The Flames take a bye next week and then start district play at Temple Holy Trinity at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24.