Faith Academy aims to clean up mistakes, get back to winning against McDade
CAPTION: Faith senior Jordan Tarver and the Flames are looking to bounce back against McDade after beginning the season with a loss. Photo by Stennis Stotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team is aiming to get back to its winning ways this week in a home game against McDade.
The Flames (0-1, District 3 Division 2 of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) welcome McDade (District 16-1A Division 1 of the University Interscholastic League) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, to Britton Field, 3151 RR 1431 East in Marble Falls.
The Bulldogs are entering this contest with confidence after mercy-ruling Killeen Christian Memorial 54-6 last week thanks to a powerful rushing attack.
“They have some size upfront and two or three fast kids in the backfield,” Flames head coach Stephen Shipley said. “They are a running team for the most part. They get movement upfront with those guys. They utilize their size upfront to get push and let those guys in the backfield get as much yards as they can.”
They key for the Flames, Shipley said, is to get to the ball carrier quickly.
“We have to contain their speed and not let them get upfield,” he said. “That’s where they’re good.”
The Bulldogs also use their speed defensively to locate where the ball is to make plays.
“They use their speed to get to the ball,” Shipley said. “Their defense is going to get upfield and use their speed to make plays in the backfield to put pressure on you.”
Faith spent this week addressing that after the 66-20 loss to Austin St. Stephens last week where the Flames threw four interceptions that were turned into Spartan touchdowns.
“We’ve had problems last week with pressure in our faces,” the coach said.
McDade has about 10 players on its roster, while Faith plans to suit up double that number.
“Our goal this week is we have to clean up our mistakes and turnovers,” Shipley said. “If we turn the ball over four or five times, it’ll be tough to win. I think we’ve refocused. No game is a given. We have to be focused each game. We can’t anything for granted. I think some good will end up coming from (the St. Stephens) loss. We watched the film and saw the positives. And there are positives to build on.”
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