Faith Academy football focuses on district play, earning a playoff berth

CAPTION: Faith Academy junior Kade Shaw and the Flames are traveling to face Waco Live Oak in a rematch of last year’s state title game. Photo by Stennis Shotts

Faith Academy head football coach Stephen Shipley said the weeks of preparations leading up to the district opener at Waco Live Oak Classical went very well for the Flames.

The game is at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at 400 S. Fourth St. in Waco.

This is a rematch of a state championship of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools where Live Oak (2-4) defeated Faith (1-3) 46-41.

Both teams are entering this game after byes and only two playoff spots are up for grabs.

Shipley cautioned that people shouldn’t read anything in the Falcons’ record.

“They played a tough predistrict schedule,” he said. “They are by no means a pushover. It should be a good game. They lost a lot of seniors, too. They’re good, they’re very disciplined, they’re very well coached.”

Offensively, the Falcons will line up in tight formations to launch their running attack that also lulls the defense into thinking run on every down. When that happens, they go to the pass.

“They’re big up front,” Shipley said. “They have three big dudes. They look like they’re about 250 pounds each. They’re big upfront and have speed in the backfield. They don’t turn the ball over and they don’t have penalties.”

Shipley noted the schedule doesn’t get easier. Round Rock Christian (4-1) will challenge for a playoff spot. Faith travels to face the Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.

“Round Rock Christian is good,” he said. “Nothing is a given in our district.”

The Flames participated in a school retreat Sept. 25-27, at the beginning of their bye week. When they came back for classes and practices Sept. 28, Shipley had a clear message for them.

“What I started with was ‘what’s in the past is in the past. We have the chance to wipe the slate clean. All we can control now is what’s in front of us,”’ he recalled saying. “I thought it was good (to attend the retreat). It gets them rejuvenated, re-energized and refocused. We were able to start going through fundamentals — tackling, ball security and going back to basics. We were trying to work out some things that we had a hard time doing during the preseason.”

As for the team’s record, Shipley blames only one person.

“I take a lot of responsibility,” he said. “I was uptight and not making it fun for the kids. I created more of a higher expectation.”

He said he sees plenty of positives from this team and believes they have enough to accomplish all their goals.

“We have to eliminate mistakes, and we have to execute,” he said. “We have talent. I told our kids all that matters is this week moving forward.”

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