Faith’s Preston Richardson goes from well-mannered to fierce on field

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

MARBLE FALLS — Faith Academy of Marble Falls junior Preston Richardson politely sits and considers each question before answering. He smiles often as he waits for the next question.

But when he’s on the field, his level of fierceness sets the tone for the Flames’ defense.

Head coach Randy Denton said without question that Richardson is the heart and soul of the unit.

“He brings an intensity every defense has to have to be good,” he said. “He and (senior safety Jonathan) Reyes fly around and make big hits and tackles for losses. Richardson is our intensity guy, our spark plug over there.”

Richardson might get his intense focus from his father, defensive coordinator Jim Richardson, a former walk-on at Auburn University. The elder Richardson was a wide receiver and defensive back.

“I know he’s very knowledgeable,” Preston said. “That’s helped me. He can point out things.”

When the two talk about football, it’s been to improve the overall unit. But those talks have also helped to strengthen their bond as father and son.

“My dad will call the plays, and we’ll translate that to the field,” Preston said. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be looking and translating center calls for the defensive line as well.”

And he didn’t hesitate to say which of the two is the better athlete.

“He was a better all-around athlete,” he said, noting his father ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash in his playing days. “In our family, we’ve always been fast. My dad was the short one in the family; he was the runt.”

At first, his father clocked a five-second 40-yard time. So he devoted himself to getting faster by running different distances on his own, his son said.

“It ticked him off, and it pushed him,” he said. “Every day, he’d run stairs and on the track. He shaped himself into a 4.39-second athlete.”

The younger Richardson aims to do the same thing during the winter, he said, by skipping basketball. But he plans to play baseball and run track for the Flames.

“I’m really excited because I can have an offseason,” he said.

Denton said a nagging injury has kept Richardson from making the kind of impact the player wants. Still, Richardson hasn’t used that as an excuse, the coach added.

“He’s been good for us this season,” Denton said. “He stays on the field for us, which we need. He leads by example. He comes to practice and works every day. He’s definitely our leader on defense.”

Recently, Richardson had the chance to help at Joseph’s Pantry, a food bank that serves the Granite Shoals area. He said the experience was eye-opening for him in many ways. One was because he could see firsthand the number of families that struggle to put food on the table.

“It’s amazing to have the opportunity to help,” he said. “It changed me in the way of seeing there really is a problem. You can see how there are things that need to be fixed.”

Those volunteer moments have kept things in perspective for him, he said.

While the Flames haven’t won as much as they’d like, Richardson said that hasn’t taken away from the positives he’s experienced.

“I love playing with people I call my brothers,” he said. “That’s what being a Flame is all about.”

The Flames close out the season at San Antonio John Paul II on Nov. 6. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Texas Lutheran University, 1000 W. Court St. in San Antonio.

jfierro@thepicayune.com