Football contest between Faith Academy, Smoking For Jesus is canceled
UPDATE: Smoking For Jesus officials have canceled the contest against the Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team scheduled for Friday, Sept. 8. The Faith Academy athletic department announced the decision Wednesday, Sept. 6. A lack of available players was cited as the reason why. The Faith Academy athletic department is on the hunt for another opponent. Keep reading TexasChalkTalk.com for updates.
CAPTION: The Faith Academy of Marble Falls defense came up big against Waco Texas Wind when it counted the most thanks to playmakers like Karter Van Gundy (5) and Carter Fromberg. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team beat Waco Texas Wind 48-40 Sept. 1 to give new head coach John Hallam his first win wearing Flames red.
The Flames (1-1) now turn their attention to hosting Smoking For Jesus at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, on Britton Field.
“Coming out of halftime, the message was ‘it was all there for us,'” Hallam said. “We had four turnovers in the first half. We were making mistakes and shooting ourselves in the foot. ‘Let’s play our game, and we’ll come out ahead.’ We finally started doing that.”
Indeed. The Flames trailed 28-14 at the half and 40-28 after three quarters but got a huge lift from one of of their playmakers with seconds left in the second quarter.
Senior Cross Sanchez made his way to paydirt.
“We were down 28-7 with 10 seconds left on third and 30,” Hallam said. “He broke it for 50 yards. That kind of got our guys inspired.”
Faith received the opening kickoff and scored on the first drive of the third stanza to trim the deficit to 28-21.
From there the teams matched each other point for point until the final two minutes. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Houy hit freshman Wade Dillard for the winning touchdown.
Sanchez had some big plays that resulted in three touchdowns to lead the way.
“He had multiple 30-yard plays, including the big touchdown by halftime,” Hallam said. “We were never down by more than two scores.”
As happy as he was to see the offense earn points, Hallam gave a lot of credit to the Flames’ defense.
“They made a lot of plays,” he said. “They had two interceptions in the fourth quarter. The defense did a lot.”
Karter Van Gundy had a “big” interception. Faith outscored Texas Wind 20-0 in the final period.
Hallam said the win was thrilling, and he was especially happy for the players.
“I wanted to get a win under our belts to preview what we could have happen,” he said. “You always want your team to look good and play well. They’re grasping (my playbook). We’re working through a lot of changes going into this week. It paid off.”
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