Faith Academy football finishes training camp, prepares for season opener

CAPTION: Faith Academy senior Cross Sanchez, defensive coordinator Jay Silvers and the Flames continue preparations for the season opener against Bulverde Gloria Deo Academy, which is at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25, at Britton Field on the Faith campus. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team got the work it needed in its only scrimmage of the 2023 season.

The Flames were one of six teams participating in the Austin Veritas scrimmage Aug. 11 that included Austin St. Stephens and Smoking For Jesus located in Burnet.

“Guys were competing very hard, and that’s the main positive takeaway,” Faith head coach John Hallam said. “The kids competed hard. We left healthy.”

The scrimmage was formatted to have four teams playing at once by putting two on each side of the 50-yard line, while the other two teams rested. Each offense and each defense received 10 plays and each squad faced the other five before leaving. Hallam said that format was a hurdle because it was difficult to build a rhythm.

“You had a wave of something totally different, and that was challenging,” he said. “Those were good teams we played. We didn’t have a ton of plays to run things. It was difficult to have success. There was no game planning. That helped me try to run our stuff.”

Hallam said some Flames are still learning new roles they haven’t played until this year.

“I didn’t put them anywhere they hadn’t been in practice,” he said. “For the guys who hadn’t played much on varsity, it was probably intimidating for them. We need 10 guys to be confident getting to the ball and making something happen. We’re teaching six or seven other guys what they’re capable of and how to succeed on the field and develop confidence where they are.”

They demonstrated an understanding of where they needed to lineup during each play and their roles, the coach said. But they didn’t make those decisions quick enough.

“They had an idea of what they were doing,” he said. “They were thinking too much. And that was on both sides, which isn’t a surprise to us. We’re two weeks into the playbook. Their effort and attitude were the biggest positive we played with.”

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