Faith Christian Eagles Football

2010 Post Season Highlights

The Eagles finished their season on Saturday, November 20 in a 11-14 loss to Olathe. Although they would have loved to keep playing for a couple more weeks, Faith accomplished a lot by being one of the Final 8 teams in 2A. Faith will greatly miss their seniors from this year: Bryan Albright, Marcus Banister, Kameron Cambier, Jordan Hasz, David Kim, Jacob Macklin, Evan Marshall, Dylan Phillips, Josh Spitzer, and Dylan Tucker.

Congrats on a great season Eagles!

Congrats to the Football team for winning their first playoff game on Saturday, November 13 against Basalt!!!

2010 Regular Season Highlights

FAITH CHRISTIAN FOOTBALL PLAYS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION…
well, sort of.  The Eagles football team was blessed with the opportunity to play their final regular season game against Pinnacle Academy on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, the local affiliate of Fox Sports.  People from the Rocky Mountain Region were able to view the game if they subscribed to a network provider that offered FSRM.  If people subscribed to the Fox Sports National Package they would be able to see the game from across the country.  Fox Sports Rocky Mountain did an excellent job of producing and airing the game.  They brought in their A-team to announce the game.  Colorado Rockies Pre and Post game announcers, Marc Stout and Tom Helmer did the play-by-play and Rockies/CU stadium reporter Alanna Rizzo was the sideline reporter.  The game was aired live at 3:30 and then replayed at 7pm so the team was able to watch the replay later that evening.  It was a great experience for the guys and they are very appreciative of Fox Sports for their hard work and the care they put into a great show.

Going into the last game of the year the Eagles had already clinched a playoff spot and the Flatirons League Championship.  They were looking to get tuned up for the playoff run to start the following week.

Offensively Isaac Henry had an outstanding game with nearly 200 yards of balanced offense, 96 yards on the ground, 100 yards receiving, and scoring a touchdown.  Alex Buchmann had another solid game at quarterback completing 75% of his passes for 150 yards and 2 TD’s.  Derek McCartney and Oran Tool were on the receiving end of those 2 TD passes.  Nolan Beasley got into the action on the ground and not the air this week with two runs, one for a TD.  The offensive line did another great job opening up holes for the backs and protecting Buchmann.

On the defensive side of the ball Nathan Rindels led the team with 11 tackles on the day and seemed to be everywhere when covering on kicks.  Jacob Macklin and Marcus Banister helped the defense out with 8 tackles each.  Nolan Beasely, Dylan Tucker, and Tyler Tucker each had an interception on the day.

As the game progressed and the Eagles pulled away they had an opportunity to play a lot of younger members of the team.  Evan O’Dorsio took over the signal calling in the second half and was able to find the endzone on an 8 yard run.

The Eagles prepare this week for the Basalt Longhorns, their first playoff opponent on Saturday at 1pm at Faith Christian.  Faith is seeded 5th in the playoff bracket with perennial powers Olathe and Florence on their side of the bracket.

Faith vs. Machebeuf ::: October 29, 2010

Faith Christian hosted a much-improved Bishop Machebeuf team in a game that would go towards determining the Flatirons League Championship on Friday night.  Machebeuf was coming in with a 6-2 record and on the year offensively had scored at least 35 points in 6 of its previous 8 games.  Their defense was on a roll and had allowed only one score in the last three weeks.  They came in confident and the Eagles were faced with a tough opponent.

The Eagles turned up the pace on their no-huddle offense to start the game and were able to quickly and efficiently move the ball in the opening drive ending with a 17 yard scoring strike from Alex Buchmann to Isaac Henry.  On the next series the Faith defense held and the Eagles got the ball back for their next drive.  The efficiency of the first drive was no where to be seen in the Eagles second drive as they moved backwards after two penalties and were faced with 37 yards to gain for a 1st down. The Eagles were forced to punt and on the first Machebeuf play of the next series, a Buffalo running back took the ball 75 yards for a game tying score.

The Eagles extended the lead to 14-7 in the 2nd quarter on a 1 yard plunge by Bryan Albright. Late in the half, the Eagles lead and momentum was aided by an interception with just seconds remaining by Marcus Banister.  Marcus was able to return the ball to the 12 yard line.  After one attempt at the endzone the Eagles marched out their field goal team with 1.7 seconds left on the clock and Dylan Phillips was able to extend the Faith lead at halftime with a 29 yard field goal.

The second half showed both teams making adjustments to their schemes and neither team scored in the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter saw the Eagles extend their lead by two more scores. A 9 yard TD run by Isaac Henry and a 50 yard TD run by Oran Tool that put the game out of reach for the Buffaloes. Oran had over 200 yards on the ground on the night and Isaac had 58 yards on 8 carries and two TD’s, one by air and one on the ground.

The Eagles defense played well on the night.  Faith held Machebeuf to less than 150 yards rushing on the night, which included the 75 yard scoring run in the 1st quarter. Leading the way for the Eagles was Marcus Banister with 12 tackles and an interception.  Nathan Rindels and Derek McCartney both had sacks in the game and combined for 14 tackles on the night.  Jordan Hasz had 7 tackles and Grayson Bundick and Josh Spitzer both added 6 tackles.

The win clinched a playoff spot for the Eagles and gave them the Flatirons League Championship.  The Eagles have won six straight league championships since 2005.  In a field that is wide-open this year Faith will not know who their first playoff opponent is until Sunday, November 7 after the seeding committee meets and releases the bracket.  Faith is assured at least a first round home game.

The Faith game with Pinnacle on Thursday, November 4 at 3:30 at 5-Star Stadium in Thornton will be aired live on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain, the same network that brings you Rockies baseball and CU football.  It will be re-aired at 7:30 the same night.

Faith vs. Academy ::: October 22, 2010

Faith Christian fans went to see a football game on Saturday afternoon when suddenly a track meet broke out.  It all started with the opening kick-off returned by Oran Tool for an 85 yard TD.  On the ensuing kick-off The Academy ran a reverse on the return and it went for an 80 yard TD.  The Eagles and Wildcats then traded scores, which led to an 88 yard kick-off return by Evan Marshall for a TD.  The result was an exciting first quarter that saw 37 points put on the scoreboard with Faith having the edge by a score of 21-16. The Eagles defense settled in aftyer some adjustments and the offense kept up its 1st Quarter pace allowing Faith to extend the score to 42-24 by half-time.

Besides the exciting returns by Tool and Marshall the scoring was aided by an accurate day by quarterback Alex Buchmann.  He was 10 of 14 on the day for two scores and 179 yards passing.  The Eagles no-huddle attack kept coming at the Wildcats and the offensive line gained confidence as they saw their opponent tiring on an unusually warm late October afternoon.  The aggressive line play led to Bryan Albright leading all Faith rushers with 94 yards on the day mostly right at the heart of the Wildcat defensive line that out-weighted the Eagles by a large margin.  Nolan Beasley led all Faith receivers with three catches for 58 yards as Buchmann spread the wealth by hitting five different receivers during the day.

Defensively the Eagles were led by a game high 17 tackles by linebacker Marcus Banister.  Jordan Hasz helped the defense with 11 tackles and recorded a sack.  Others contributing to the defensive effort were Nathan Rindels with a sack and Nolan Beasley with an interception that helped Faith extend their lead.

The Eagles get ready next week to host a league championship match-up with Bishop Machebeuf.  Both teams are 6-2 on the season and tied with the league lead.

Faith vs. Mead ::: October 15, 2010

Channel 9 News came to pay a visit to Faith Christian this week as they chose the Faith Mead match-up as their game of the week.  Prep reporter Jesse Horn did live previews of the game at the stadium for the Channel 9 evening news program.  Cheerleader Ellie Hadden won tickets to the CU-Baylor game by answering trivia questions about the two teams involved.  Mead is playing their first year of varsity football in several decades as they have re-opened the school in the Longmont area.

Having no seniors in their program the Mavericks struggled against the more experienced Eagles.  Faith got off to an early 33-0 lead after the first quarter mixing in long runs by Faith backs and accurate passes from QB Alex Buchmann to a variety of receivers including a 40 yards scoring strike to Nolan Beasley.  Faith was led on the ground by Oran Tool who totaled 204 yards rushing on only 6 carries, 4 for TD’s.  Many young Eagles contributed to Faiths rushing total on the night highlighted by a 48 yard scoring run by sophomore Tyler Tucker.

The Eagles defense frustrated the Mead option attack holding them in check all night and posting a shutout in the game.  Leading the way on defense was Marcus Banister with 8 tackles and a sack and Nathan Rindels with 6 tackles and a sack.

Faith vs. Middle Park ::: October 8, 2010

The Eagles braved a mountain trip to Middle Park and the weather in the opening Flatirons League match-up with the 3-2 Panthers.  What started out as a beautiful night in the mountains quickly changed early in the second half as the wind started to howl, the rain came in, and lightning chased the teams to the locker room and fans to their cars.

The Eagles took control early in the contest led by two first quarter touchdown runs by Bryan Albright, he totaled 91 yards rushing on the night with three TD runs.  In the second quarter Faith continued pulling away with a nice seam pass from Alex Buchmann to Oran Tool that covered 48 yards for a score.

To start the second half the Panthers drove methodically down the field inside the 10 yard line when the weather broke their momentum.  After a 40 minute delay play resumed and the Eagles came out fired up to stop the Panthers on the 3 yard line.  On the next play for the Eagles, Oran Tool went off-tackle for a 97 yard TD run up the sideline to extend the lead.  The 97 yard run is a school record beating out a 94 yard scoring run by Tyler Funk in the 2006 state title game against Platte Valley.  Oran finished the night with 138 yards on 7 carries.

The defense was faced with stopping Middle Park’s methodical double-wing offense and were up to the challenge. The varisty defense kept the panthers out of the end zone all night. Late in the 4th Quarter, the Pathers scored on a long drive against many Faith reserves. The defense was led by Josh Spitzer and Jordan Hasz each with 14 tackles.

Faith vs. Sheridan ::: October 1, 2010

This year’s homecoming event was a huge success.  Many families took part in the activities including a pre-game cook-out, blow-ups for the children, a halftime parade on the track, and of course a match-up between Faith Christian and the 3-1 Sheridan Rams on the football field.

In front of a packed stadium the Eagles took control early with an opening drive that ended with a 4 yard touchdown run by Bryan Albright.  Faith took a halftime lead of 14-0 into the locker room after a late 2^nd quarter touchdown run by Oran Tool.

In the 3^rd quarter the Eagles pulled away with another TD run by Albright and a 47 yard pass connection from Alex Buchmann to Evan Marshall.  Sheridan and Faith traded scores in the 4^th quarter and the game ended with a convincing homecoming victory for the Eagles 34-7.

The Eagles defense was facing the leading rusher in the state averaging 235 yards per game and the defense was up to the challenge holding the Sheridan running-back to 99 yards on 24 carries.  The defensive effort was led by Marcus Banister with 14 total tackles and a sack, Nathan Rindels with 10 total tackles, and Derek McCartney with 10 total tackles including 2 sacks.

Offensively, Faith was led by Oran Tool who had 15 carries for 167 yards and one TD run.  QB, Alex Buchmann was 8 for 14 for 174 yards and one TD pass.  Nathan Rindels had 3 receptions for 87 yards and would have been well over 100 yards receiving with a great catch and run if it hadn’t been called back for a penalty.

The Eagles have a short week as they prepare to travel to the mountains to face a much improved Middle Park team on Thursday night at 7pm.

Faith vs. Kent Denver ::: September 25, 2010

In another tough non-league rematch of a playoff opponent from last year Faith Christian traveled to Kent Denver to face the Sundevils.  In a hard fought battle between the two teams Kent came out on top 23-13.

Kent sold-out to shut down the Eagles passing game by double teaming receivers Nolan Beasley and Evan Marshall with an unconventional defensive strategy.  The strategy was effective in stopping the Eagles air attack led by Alex Buchmann but opened up large holes in the middle of the Sundevil defense for the Eagle quarterback.  The Eagles took advantage of the opportunity by running right at the heart of the Kent defense and moved the ball effectively on the ground for much of the day.  Buchmann rushed for 94 yards and Oran Tool rushed for 53 yards on the day.  Penalties stalled two scoring drives in which the Eagles had to settle for field goals by Dylan Phillips of 27 and 39 yards.  Another drive was also stalled by a penalty.  The Eagles miscues on offense kept them out of the endzone for all but one drive when they took the ball to Kent 24 and then at the end of a 14 yard run the ball was fumbled.  Fortunately an alert Evan Marshall scooped up the ball at the 10 yard line and ran it in from there.

Big plays and taking advantage of Eagle defensive penalties was the story for Kent.  In the first drive for Kent they were aided by 30 yards of penalties including a roughing the kicker call following a missed 40 yard field goal attempt that kept the drive alive.  The first half ended with a 6-3 advantage for Kent.  To start the second half Kent took the opening kickoff all the way to open up the lead to 13-3.  Faith battled back and tied the score 13-13.  Another big play by Kent put the ball at the 3 yard line and they took the lead for good with a 2 yard run.

The Eagles played hard but mental errors at key moments cost them a chance for a road win.  They are determined to work on their discipline this week in practice as they prepare to face Sheridan and the leading rusher in the state with 943 yards averaging 235 yards per game according to VarVee.  The Eagles will have to play with great discipline to stop the Sheridan running game.

Faith vs. Centaurus ::: September 16, 2010

The Faith Christian Eagles got off the mat against Centaurus after being knocked down the week before at Brush.  The Eagles dominated the game on both sides of the ball.  Coming into the game the Eagles were facing one of the best athletes in mid-level football in the Centaurus quarterback who had averaged 156 yards per game rushing and 205 yards a game passing.  The Eagles were determined to prepare better this week and that preparation paid off.  They held the Centaurus QB to just 35 yards rushing on 17 carries and 69 yards passing.  A verse of focus through the week was “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,” from Proverbs 16:20.  The Eagles were able to see the fruit of heeding the instruction of their coaches throughout the week and prospered on the field Thursday night.  They showed great preparation and determination in the match-up.

Faith took the lead in the first quarter 7-0 and then opened up the lead in the second quarter by putting up 17 unanswered points.  The first half scoring was highlighted by a 35 yard scoring strike from Buchmann to Marshall coming off of a Centaurus turn-over.

The third quarter had Centaurus controlling the time of possession with a couple of long drives that were stopped by the Eagles defense in the red zone.  In the fourth quarter Faith stopped Centaurus at the two yard line after a first and goal with an exciting goal-line stand.  Nathan Rindels made stops on second and third down and Jordan Hasz batted down a pass on fourth down to keep the shut-out.

The Eagles put together their version of “The Drive” by putting together a 98 yard scoring drive after the goal-line stand.  Nearly 61 of the 98 yards came off of a long run by Oran Tool who finished with 159 yards on 12 carries.  Isaac Henry ended the drive with a 6 yard scoring run.

The defense was lead by Marcus Banister with 14 tackles and Evan Marshall with 11 tackles, one interception, and a few bone jarring pass break-ups from his free safety position.

Faith now gets ready for a re-match of last year’s championship game at Kent Denver on Saturday at 1pm.  The Sundevils will have similar motivation as Brush had in week two as they have an opportunity to seek revenge on last year’s championship game loss.  Kent is very talented, well disciplined, and will play with a lot of emotion.

Faith vs. Brush ::: September 10, 2010

The Eagles got off to the exact opposite start in their week two match-up on the road at Brush from the start in week one.  Week one they scored on their first two plays on offense.  In week two at Brush they turned the ball over on the first two plays and had to battle from behind 14-0 early in the game.  Faith scored in the second quarter to make it 14-7 on a 41 yard pass from Alex Buchmann to Evan Marshall.  The Beetdiggers showed great resolve and determination as they marched back down the field and scored making it 21-7.  A risky 4^th down call by Coach Hubbard backfired late in the first half and Brush was able to score at the end of the half to make it 28-7.  The Brush home crowd was thrilled as they had been waiting a long time for a performance like this from their Beetdiggers against Faith after many years of frustration.  Both teams were scoreless in the second half and the game ended at 28-7.  Brush defeated Faith for the first time in the long history of games between the two teams, most match-ups coming in the play-offs.  The headline in the Fort Morgan Times summed up their feeling with the caption, “Finally!”  The defeat ended a 53 game regular season winning streak by the Faith football team.  The most recent regular season loss before the Brush loss occurred in September of 2004.

The Eagles were humbled at the hands of the Beetdiggers as the team from Brush prepared better, executed their game plan better, and flat out played tougher.  Faith is determined to have a better week of practice and preparation as they get ready to play 2-0 Centaurus next week.

Faith vs. Ridgeview ::: September 3, 2010

The 2010 Faith Christian Football Team got off to a fast start on Friday night in their season opener against Ridgeview Academy.  Wide Receiver, Evan Marshall took the first offensive play of the season 75 yards for a touchdown off of a perfectly placed pass from quarterback Alex Buchmann.  On the first defensive series for the Eagles, Evan intercepted a pass and the team struck quickly again with a 27 yards touchdown pass from Buchmann to Wide Receiver Nolan Beasley.  Two offensive plays, two touchdowns and a great start to the season.

Offensive highlights include Alex Buchmann setting a school record for passing yards in a game with 263 yards, finishing with 9 completions off of 14 attempts and 3 TD passes.  Evan Marshall set a school record with 178 yards receiving on 6 receptions.  Oran Tool rushed for 109 yards off of 6 attempts including an exciting 53 yard touchdown run.

The defense was equally exceptional recording a shutout in the season opener.  Marcus Banister led the team with 12 tackles including a sack.  David Kim recorded 6 tackles with 3 of them being tackles for loss.  Derek McCartney got off to a good start with 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  Evan Marshall had 7 tackles and 1 interception.

The game ended with a final score of 41-0.  Following the game the Faith players prayed with the Ridgeview Academy Rams on the field and prayed for their season, health throughout the year, and for an injured player.  Our hope is that the visitors saw a difference in our team and that would draw them closer to knowing Christ.

This week kicks-off the annual Turn-Over Hunger food drive lead by the football team.  Each student at Faith is challenged to bring in a canned good for each turn-over forced in the previous weekends game.  The donated food is then taken to local food banks to help those in need in our community.  Last year faith students donated over a ton of food to the community.  Friday night the team forced one Turn-Over.  Please send in one canned good to be donated.