Faith Academy football outlasts Bulverde Bracken
CAPTION: Faith Academy junior Andrew Houy (1) has several touchdowns in the win against Bulverde Bracken in a battle for first place in the district. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls football team beat Bulverde Bracken 68-62 Oct. 31 in a battle for first place in Division II, District 4 of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
“Feels good,” head coach Jay Silvers said. “The boys earned this. The tough non-district schedule helped them to fight through four quarters. Right before the half, I got on them. ‘You got to get up and get back into this.'”
The Flames (4-5, 2-0) struck first. After holding the Warriors (4-4, 1-1) scoreless on their first possession, Faith junior Andrew Houy found freshman Landon Silvers for a touchdown and the 8-0 lead.
By the end of the first quarter, Bracken found its rhythm for a 26-20 advantage that went to 32-20 with 2 minutes and 45 seconds left in the half.
But Faith made the key plays in the final minutes that set the stage for the rest of the game.
Landon Silvers called his own number on seven consecutive plays for a touchdown. Even when he was called for a facemask and faced a first-and-30, Silvers hit Houy for a pass play that ended on the Bracken seven-yard line. A holding penalty negated a Silvers touchdown from the two-yard line.
No matter. Silvers scored from 13 yards out to trim the deficit to 32-28 with 35 seconds left in the second quarter.
Then came the play of the first half.
The ball hit a Warrior on the leg on the kickoff that made it a live ball. Faith freshman Graham McGraw recovered it to give possession back to the Flames at the Bracken 30-yard line.
Silvers immediately ran for 20 yards. A roughing-the-passer penalty put the ball on the two. Then Houy ran in for the touchdown from two yards out and the 36-32 lead at the half.
“It got the boys back into the game,” the coach said. “We got into a lull. We started shooting ourselves in the foot with kickoffs. We challenged them, and they accepted the challenge and came back. The momentum shift helped carry us in the second half.”
Each team answered the other in scoring throughout the third quarter.
After Bracken sophomore quarterback Jack Bruggraaf scored on a five-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Kevin Hyder for a 38-36 lead, Houy scored on a 50-yard run for a 44-38 advantage.
Bruggraaf found freshman Atlas Gentry for a 43-yard touchdown to knot the score at 44-44 with 7:19 left in the stanza,
Silvers capped a four-play, 40-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown and a 52-44 lead with 5:44 remaining in the quarter.
The Faith defense forced Bracken to turn the ball over on downs on its next drive.
Houy finished the Faith offensive drive with a short pass to junior Adam Merlick, who weaved his way to the end zone from 35 yards out for a 60-44 advantage with about 2:45 left in the period.
Bruggraaf found Gentry on a nine-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 60-50 as the fourth quarter began.
Neither team scored until 4:49 was left in the contest. Bracken sophomore Whitt Lowry scored from about a yard out to cut the Faith lead to 60-58.
Houy answered by calling his own number on five consecutive plays and overcame second-and-19 with a long run that ended on the Bracken 20-yard line. He scored a five-yard touchdown two plays later for the 68-58 advantage with 1:11 remaining in the game.
The Warriors kicked a field goal to trim the deficit to 68-62 with 24.3 seconds left in the contest.
Needing another possession, Bracken attempted an onside kick. But Houy caught it on the bounce to secure only the seventh Faith win against the Warriors.
Bruggraaf connected on 16 of 31 passes for 226 yards and six touchdowns and had five carries for 65 yards and a score. Gentry had five receptions for 122 yards and a score. Freshman Carson Echt had nine rushes for 67 yards.
Echt also led the Warriors with 12 tackles, followed by sophomore Luke Leslie with 12.
But every time the Faith defensive unit needed to get off the field, the Flames got the stops.
“Our defense made some crucial stops, and we were able to score and capitalize,” the coach said. “(Bracken) had a hard time controlling our sweeps.”
And more than that, the Flames answered with touchdowns when Bracken scored until the defense found the formula to stop the Warriors.
“That’s huge.,” Jay Silvers said. “Houy was running the ball hard. Landon is a strong runner. He has a little bit of range throwing the ball. He’s getting a lot harder to bring down. Adam stepped up big time. He’s getting the dump passes and has great hand. Those three are stepping up.”
The Flames also got points from freshman kicker Egan Barnes. Barnes, who hadn’t been available for several weeks, had a solid week of practice leading to the Bracken game.
“That’s 14 extra points,” Silvers said.
The Flames travel play San Antonio Lutheran at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8.
“(My athletes) are playing as a team,” Jay Silvers said. “They’re all working together and offensively, it’s showing. The defense is starting to gel and click. That’s what’s important for us to move forward.”
