G-E announces 2005 All-Area football teams

By Jason Orts

The Gazette-Enterprise

Published January 5, 2006

SEGUIN — The 2005 football season in the Seguin area was filled with plenty of highs and a number of lows.

For two area teams, it was a season that included playoff berths and winning seasons. For the other two, it was a frustrating year with one major highlight.

It was a year in which the young Lifegate Falcons, in only their third year of existence, learned to fly by posting their first winning season, a 10-2 mark. They also won the first playoff game of their existence.

The Seguin Matadors reached the playoffs for the second straight year after posting a 7-4 mark. Seguin boasted the area’s top Class 5A defense, allowing an average of 148.3 yards per game.

The Navarro Panthers were 3-1 to begin the season before a three-week break because of Hurricane Rita took away their momentum. They struggled to a 4-6 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001 but beat the Poth Pirates for the first time since 1989.

The Marion Bulldogs struggled with youth and a turnover bug and finished with a 3-7 record. The Bulldogs’ biggest highlight of the season was a 31-23 win over Poteet, the eventual District 28-3A champion.

For each of these teams, there were players who stood out above the rest, and the Gazette-Enterprise has recognized them by naming them to the All-Seguin-Area teams.

When a team posts a seven-game improvement from the previous season, the choice for Coach of the Year is clear, and this season, that distinction goes to Lifegate head coach John Rabon.

While the Marion Bulldogs’ season was riddled with frustration, junior Ty Grimm’s running was anything but frustrating. Grimm rushed for 1,249 yards on 186 carries (a 6.7 average) and scored 16 touchdowns and was named the District 28-3A Offensive MVP and can add the G-E Offensive Player of the Year to his list of accolades.

The Matador defense was led by a pair of juniors and wouldn’t have been nearly as good without either one of them, so linebacker Marcus Richardson and cornerback Desmond Jackson share the Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Richardson was the team’s leader in tackles with 137 tackles, 16 of which were for loss, 11 quarterback hurries and four sacks. Jackson was the team’s leader in interceptions with six, and he returned four of them for scores.

Joining Grimm in the first-team backfield are Navarro quarterback Jared Jaroszewski and Seguin running back Isaiah Sneed. Seguin’s Calvin Caad and Navarro’s Josiah Moneyhon fill the wide receiver positions, while Navarro’s Paden King is the tight end.

The offensive line consists of Santos Verdin and Mason Smith of Navarro, Andrew Cage of Marion and Dustin Ortiz and Chris Wilson of Seguin. Ryan Kiel and Thomas Wright, both of Seguin, are the first-team’s kicker and kick returner, respectively.

Three Matadors — end Logan Johnson and tackles Michael Castillo and Jerry Pollard — man the first-team defensive line, while Navarro’s Jorge Rodriguez takes the fourth spot.

Richardson is joined at linebacker by Tommy Lopez and Rene Hermann, both of Navarro. Noel Luna and Jace Ross of Navarro joins Jackson and Wright in the secondary. Arnold Martinez is the first-team punter.

Because of having an abundance of talented skill-position players in the area, the G-E placed three running backs and three wide receivers on the second team, which left only three spots for offensive linemen.

The second-team quarterback is Lifegate’s James Hall, and he is joined in the backfield by Luna, Herrmann and Marion’s D.J. Goudge. Lifegate’s Dustin Corder, Seguin’s Rey Medrano and Marion’s Kyle Brown make up the second-team receiving corps, while Derrick Heckman of Marion, Navarro’s Blake Myklebust and Seguin’s Adrian Arispe make up the second-team offensive line. Marion’s Brown is the second-team kicker, while Navarro’s Randy Castillo gets the nod as the kick returner.

The second-team defensive line consists of Marion’s Michael Andrade, Seguin’s Sean Delcourt and Navarro’s Zann Schriewer and King.

At linebacker, Marion’s Sam Wolfe and Goudge and Seguin’s Marcus Greenwood earned second-team honors. Seguin’s Tyler O’Neal and Ian Mata, Marion’s Jarrett Carroll and Navarro’s Zach Newlin are the second-team defensive backs. Herrmann is the second-team punter.

Lifegate posts most successful season

By Jason Orts
The Gazette-Enterprise
Published December 27, 2005

SEGUIN — The third time was the charm for the Lifegate Falcons.

In only their third year of competition in six-man football, the Falcons exceeded even their own coach’s preseason expectations and put together a special season.

"I think we’ll finish somewhere around 6-4 or 7-3," said Lifegate head coach John Rabon before the season.

The Falcons reeled off seven straight wins to start the season, and it was a 47-0 decision over Marble Falls Faith in their fourth game that told Rabon his team could be for real.

"When we played Marble Falls Faith and then shut them out, I think that told me all I needed to know," Rabon said. "We’d beaten some teams, but they weren’t as good as Marble Falls Faith, so when we beat them, I felt like we were on our way."

Lifegate rolled to three more wins before Granbury Happy Hill put together an explosive second half in the second round of the playoffs, closing out the Falcons’ season with a 10-2 record.

"There were a lot of special things about this season," Rabon said. "Regardless of the record, when you don’t have a bunch of players — like we had 10 — you really get to know the kids well. The best thing about this season besides the winning — winning always makes it sweeter — was just having those guys on the team. They didn’t care who scored the touchdowns, and there wasn’t any ego involved. That’s an awesome thing."

It was a season of firsts for the Falcons.

They recorded their first winning season, pitched their first-ever shutout in a 49-0 win over Clear Lake Christian in Week 2 and claimed their first playoff win in a 52-43 triumph over Joshua Christian in the first round.

In the preseason, the pundits predicted the Falcons would finish third behind Fredericksburg Heritage and San Antonio Town East. But Rabon said he felt his team would upset one of those teams and reach the playoffs.

His team made its coach’s prediction stand up in its first district game as the Falcons blanked Town East in a 48-0, mercy-rule win.

The next week, in a battle of undefeated teams, Lifegate simply didn’t have enough to match up with Fredericksburg Heritage in a 48-0 loss.

But the Falcons rebounded, dominating San Antonio Winston in a non-district game, 52-0, Lifegate’s fifth shutout win of the season. Rabon credits a more physical approach to the game as the main reason for the defense’s improvement.

"I was talking to a coach from St. Albans about the season we had," Rabon said. "He told me we were known as a very physical team. I was happy to hear that. If people know coming into the game you’re going to knock the dog out of them, that’s always to your advantage."

In the final district game against Boerne Vanguard, the Falcons needed a win to reach the postseason and wasted little time putting the Knights away with a 38-point first quarter en route to a 54-6 victory that was stopped at halftime.

All told, the Falcons outscored their opponents by an average margin of 45-19 and outgained them by 112 yards per contest (286-174).

Lifegate made its living by jumping on top of teams in the first half. Lifegate outscored its opponents 170-36 in the first quarter and by a 202-65 margin in the second.

Quarterback James Hall was the one running the show for the Falcons. The junior led the team with 461 yards rushing and his eight touchdowns on the ground tied for a team-high with senior Dustin Corder.

Hall also controlled the game with his arm, completing 61 percent of his passes for 1,943 yards. He threw 37 touchdown strikes and only seven interceptions and was an honorable mention All-State selection.

Corder was Hall’s favorite target, corralling 47 passes for 874 yards and 15 touchdowns and was named second-team All-State at wide receiver. He also rushed for 439 yards on 63 carries. On defense, Corder was the Falcons’ leading tackler and caused 13 turnovers in garnering honorable mention on the All-State team.

"Dustin had above average speed and brought a more physical approach to our team," Rabon said. "He could run and catch the ball, and on defense, he’d run all the way across the field just to get one more hit in. I think that rubbed off on our guys, and hopefully, that will continue next year."

Senior Daniel Hall was a battering ram the Falcons used when they needed only a few yards. He rushed for 275 yards and six scores for the season while adding 233 yards on 18 receptions and 10 total touchdowns.

"Daniel was always a steady influence," Rabon said. "The guys felt confident whenever he was on the field. He’d get a block when we needed a block or he’d catch the ball when we needed a first down. He’d step into a gap at any time we needed him."

With only two seniors on the roster this season, the Falcons appear to be in good shape with their returning players for 2006.

"We’re going to miss our seniors," Rabon said. "But I think with the experience we have coming back next season with those guys having played 12 games this season and the success we had, we’re going to have a good chance to be even better next year."

© 2005 The Gazette-Enterprise. All rights reserved.

Six Eagles Names All State
Posted: Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005 - 04:41:12 pm CST
Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post

The entire starting line-up for the Heritage Eagles six-man football team was tabbed for all-state honors in Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II.

The Eagles ran the table on their competition for the 2005 season, going 12-0 and picking up its second consecutive state championship.

Seniors Coleman Akin, Joe Neel and tenth grader Robert Ramsay led the way with selections to both the offensive and defensive first teams. Akin was chosen as running back and cornerback, Neel was tabbed as offensive center and defensive lineman, and Ramsay took tight end and linebacker honors.

Akin was also named to the first string special team.

Other first team members include 12th graders Nick Klein (defensive lineman) and Joe Beall (cornerback).

Beall was also named to the All-State second team at quarterback and kicker. Sophomore Logan Lyda picked up the running back position on the second offensive squad.

Honorable Mention recognition went to Klein (utility back), Lyda (safety) and Beall (punter).

The Eagles, who went undefeated during their nine-game regular season schedule, defeated St. Alban’s of Arlington for the state championship by a 44-32 score on Dec. 3.

Heritage is currently riding a 30-game win streak, the best among six-man football schools in the United States and Canada.

Hoping For A Repeat
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005 - 03:18:55 pm CST

The Eagles have landed!

For the second consecutive year, the Heritage Eagles’ six-man football team has landed a place in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II finals by virtue of their 68-23 win over the Fort Worth Glenview Christian School Cowboys Saturday afternoon.

The contest was played on Frazee Field at Central Texas Christian School in Temple.

Heritage will face Arlington St. Alban’s Episcopal School this Saturday at noon in Moody. St. Alban’s defeated Granbury Happy Hill Farm Academy by a 50-32 margin in the weekend’s other semifinal game.

The Eagles beat Happy Hill last year, 44-24, to earn the 2004 TAPPS title.

Last Saturday’s contest ended late in the third period when Nick Klein scored on a five-yard run to give the Eagles the 45-point second-half lead it needed to win under the "mercy rule".

For the game, Heritage compiled 368 yards of total offense (203 rushing, 165 passing) while holding Glenview to only 181 (60 on the ground, 121 through the air).

Coleman Akin, who led the Eagles with 90 rushing yards on ten carries, scored five touchdowns in the game, two by rushing, two by receiving and one by passing.

Klein added 72 rushing yards to the Heritage cause, scoring two times on runs of five and 33 yards, respectively.

Joe Beall completed six of ten passes for 126 yards and two TDs on the day.

The Eagle defense was spearheaded by Joe Neel and Beall with seven tackles apiece.

Heritage also recovered both of Glenview’s fumbles.

At the beginning of the game, the Eagles set the pace early as the Heritage defense held off Glenview on its first trip to the red zone.

After working the ball down to the Eagle four and a first-and-goal, Heritage held on four consecutive plays, capped on a fourth-and-four when Robert Ramsay and Klein sacked Cowboy quarterback Devon Wills at the nine, turning the ball over on downs to Heritage.

From there, the Eagles drove the ball downfield 71 yards on ten plays, ending on a Ramsay five-yard run up the middle to pay dirt with 1:14 remaining in the first period.

Beall kicked the two-point conversion, giving Heritage an 8-0 lead.

"We played outstanding defense in the Red Zone," said Heritage head coach Tim Shipman following the game. "We had to tighten up" on several fourth-down situations, he added. "We made them earn everything they got."

Shipman continued by complimenting his players on their attitude, players who play hard whether it’s "for one second or for a quarter."

Following a Glenview three-and-out, the Eagles started another drive, this time from their own 18. With the help of two Beall passes n a 17-yarder to Neel, followed later by a ten-yard aerial to Logan Lyda to the Cowboy 15 nAkin took over by powering his way first to the four, then crossing the goal line on his next carry to give Heritage a 16-0 margin.

Undaunted, Glenview seemed ready to get back into the game when it marched back downfield, getting to the Eagle seven. But as if struck by lightning, the Cowboys’ fortunes turned sour immediately when Wills coughed up the ball at the seven when leveled by Klein. An alert Lyda scooped up the loose pigskin and motored 73 yards down the left sideline untouched until he reached the end zone, giving Heritage a 24-0 lead with 4:34 left in the half.

After holding the Cowboys on downs at the Glenview 38, the Eagles needed only one play to light up the scoreboard once again. On the first play, Akin caught a pass from Beall in the middle of the field, then zig-zagged his way down the left side for a quick score to give Heritage a 32-0 margin with 3:41 remaining before intermission.

Glenview’s third trip inside the Heritage ten-yard line proved to be a charm when the Cowboys’ Joey Erwin slipped in to the end zone from two yards out, bringing the score to 32-8 with only 49 ticks left on the clock.

But that was just the beginning of an incredible scoring binge by both schools in the remaining time before intermission. Those tallies helped define the second quarter, a ten-minute interval that saw Heritage and Glenview combine for 53 points.

Just when it seemed that the pendulum of momentum might have swung in Glenview’s favor, the high-powered Heritage offense kicked back into high gear. Klein hauled in an Akin pass at the Cowboy 22, then turned on the jets down the right side, not stopping until he dove into the end zone with only 24 seconds left.

The snap on the PAT was high, leaving the Eagles up by a 38-8 margin.

But the ’Boys were able to grab the brass ring again when Erwin reeled in a Wills aerial on a 31-yard scoring play. A Wills-to-Justin Wright one-point conversion pass brought the score to 38-15, five seconds before halftime.

But that wasn’t all of the scoring in the second period.

After Ramsay recovered an onsides kick at mid-field, Akin, a secondary receiver on the play, caught Beall’s pass, then blistered a path down the right sideline, diving the final two yards over the goal line as time expired, giving Heritage a 46-15 advantage.

The Eagles wasted little time in expressing domination of the game in the third stanza when Klein capped a three-play, 65-second drive with a 33-yard touchdown run. Beall’s kick elevated the Heritage lead to 54-15, only six points shy of a 45-point "mercy rule" victory.

But the Cowboys were not ready to roll over and play dead.

With the help of a 25-yard Wills-to-Erwin pass mixed in with a few running plays, Glenview was able to evaporate the yardage downfield, ending when Wills hooked up with Erwin again on a three-yard pass. With the two-point conversion, the Cowboys were trailing 54-23 with 3:26 left in the third.

But it was only a matter of time before the Eagles managed to prevail with the 45-point win.

First, Akin polished off a three-play, 35-yard drive when he carried the ball two yards up the middle to pay dirt. Beall’s kick put Heritage up by a 62-23 score.

Then, Akin recovered the ensuing onsides kick at the Glenview 31. From there, Lyda rushed for seven yards, then Akin powered his way to the five before Klein ended the game with the Eagles’ final touchdown.

Heritage Advancing

Robert Ramsay and Coleman Akin combined for six touchdowns n three apiece n as the Heritage Eagles advanced in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division II six-man football playoffs by defeating Dallas Covenant 51-6 Saturday night at Highlander Stadium in Highland Park.

Defending state champion, Heritage has now won all ten of its games this year (including a 9-0 mark for the regular season, which also carried with it the District 4 title). Since entering TAPPS six-man play last year, the Gillespie County school has compiled a 22-0 record (including last year’s 12-0 run for the championship).

As the Eagles had done several times in the regular season, they ended the game by way of the 45-point "mercy rule" in the third period.

With the win, Heritage advances to the state semifinals where they’ll face Fort Worth Glenview Christian School Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Central Texas Christian School Field near Temple.

Glenview defeated Houston Texas Christian by an aggressive 92-78 score in a contest also played on Saturday.

"The whole team stayed focused," said Heritage head coach Tim Shipman about the way his troops performed against Covenant. "We played good, fundamental football and went step-by-step."

Shipman added that one of the big keys to winning the game was that the Eagles’ played a physical game against Covenant. "We got them down and never let them up," he said.

He called the contest a "well-played game" by his team, adding that "we capitalized on their turnovers." Those turnovers included intercepting two passes and recovering a Knight fumble.

He cited the intimidating defensive play n especially by Ramsay, Logan Lyda and Nick Klein n as another component of the victory. "Defensively, we just overpowered them," he noted.

Heritage managed to hold the Knights to only 79 yards of total offense (43 on the ground and 36 through the air).

Meanwhile, the high-power, high-scoring Eagle offense generated 315 total yards, with 193 of those coming on the ground in only 15 carries and the remaining 122 on seven completed passes.

In last Saturday’s game, Akin rushed for 117 yards on seven attempts, scoring his three touchdowns on runs of 25, 40 and 50 yards. Meanwhile, Ramsay ran 32 yards for one score and caught two Joe Beall TD passes of five and 52 yards for the other scores.

For the game, Beall completed seven of his ten passes for 122 yards.

Logan Lyda notched a seven-yard touchdown run to round out the Eagle scoring machine.

Akin frustrated the Knights on the Heritage possession when he outran the Covenant defenders on a 40-yard jaunt to pay dirt. Beall’s two-point kick gave the Eagles an 8-0 lead with 9:31 left in the opening period.

Three minutes later, Akin repeated his earlier touchdown performance, but this time scoring from 50 yards away, boosting the Heritage advantage to 16-0.

As the quarter was drawing to a close, Ramsay hauled in a Beall five-yard aerial for the Eagles’ third TD of the stanza, giving Heritage a 22-0 margin.

Covenant running back Will Martin ran for the Knights’ only score of the evening when he scooted his way to the end zone from eight yards out early in the second period. The point-after try failed, leaving Covenant trailing by a 22-6 score.

But the Eagles responded later when Akin eluded the Knight defense on a 25-yard burst for a touchdown with 2:30 remaining before halftime. Seventy-seven seconds later, Beall completed a 52-yard pass to Ramsay for yet another touchdown. Beall kicked both PATs to give Heritage a 38-6 advantage.

With only a few seconds gone in the third period, Lyda powered his way over the goal line from the seven-yard line, extending the Heritage lead to 44-6.

Two minutes later, Ramsay bulled his way into the end zone from 32 yards out, giving the Eagles a 50-6 lead. Akin then ran the ball over on the extra point try, giving Heritage the 45-point margin (51-6) it needed to end the game at that point.

While reviewing his coaching reports on Glenview this past Sunday evening, Coach Shipman said he’s constantly learning more about the Cowboys.

But there’s one thing he does know about Glenview: despite being a relatively young team, "they’re very tenacious," adding that while the Cowboys might be known for making youthful lack-of-experience type of mistakes, they must be doing something right. "When you score 92 points, that’s a pretty good offense," he said.

Shipman mentioned that the Cowboys employ a pass-oriented offense and have a trio of players who will be expected to draw a lot of the Eagles’ attention throughout the game.

First, junior quarterback Devon Wills is a formidable athlete who can throw the ball to his "old reliable," his receiver tight end Justin Wright, also an 11th grader.

Rounding out the threesome is running back Joey Erwin, only a sophomore. Shipman indicated that Erwin can be counted on for both his running and pass-catching abilities.

"We’ve got to find a way to stop these three," the Heritage coach said.

And doing what’s necessary to hinder the workings of Wills, Wright and Erwin will be made more difficult because of the short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. But that monkey wrench is something that the team’s senior brain-trust n Akin, Beall, Klein and Joe Neel n will have to work through with their teammates.

"These are tremendous leaders," Shipman said of the 12th grade students. "They know that they have two more weeks, at best, left in their high school careers."

But as all coaches know, and try to instill in their players, games are played one at a time, step by step. And the next step for Heritage in its quest for a second consecutive TAPPS state championship starts Saturday against Glenview.

In other TAPPS Division II six-man action over the weekend, St. Alban’s (9-2) defeated Duncanville Christway by a close 54-49 score and Granbury Happy Hill (9-2) bested Seguin Lifegate, 72-38.

Lifegate finished the regular season as the District 4 runner-up, behind Heritage.

St. Alban’s will take on Happy Hill this weekend, with the winner facing the winner of the Heritage-Glenview contest during the weekend of Nov. 18-20.

Eagles Starts Playoff Road
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005 - 03:33:25 pm CST

For the second time in as many years, the six-man football team from Heritage School is starting on the long and tricky road to a state championship trophy.

Last year, the Eagles’ run was a successful venture that ended with them capturing the state crown in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II finals when they defeated perennial TAPPS powerhouse Granbury Happy Hill Farm Academy, 44-24.

After completing a perfect 9-0 regular season for 2005 (which included capturing the District 4-1A crown), Heritage drew a bye in last weekend’s bi-district round.

Now, the Eagles will put on the pads this Saturday when they take on Dallas Covenant School in a 6 p.m. contest to be played at Highlander Stadium in Highland Park, located just north of Dallas.

Covenant advanced in the TAPPS tournament with a 49-13 win over Wichita Falls Christian School last Saturday.

While Heritage and Covenant have never met on the gridiron before, they are not necessarily strangers. According to the Heritage team’s general manager, John Akin, the two schools do have some "history" with each other.

He said the founding families of Heritage used Dallas Covenant (as well as Austin Regents) as models "for structuring the Classical Christian philosophy for the curriculum for Heritage, so Covenant has been a sister school to Heritage all these years."

Akin added that when Dallas Covenant started up its football program last year, it used Heritage’s gridiron system as a template.

"It is a fun and friendly rivalry" which he said will lead to "a very exciting game" come Saturday.

The winner of this weekend’s game between Heritage and Dallas Covenant will take on the victor in the Fort Worth Glenview and Houston Texas Christian match-up in the state semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 26.

On the other side of the bracket, Duncanville Christway faces Arlington St. Alban’s and Granbury Happy Hill meets Seguin Lifegate.

Lifegate finished second in the District 4-1A standings and advanced to the second round by defeating Joshua Christian last week, 52-43.

The way the bracket has been drawn, it is conceivable that Heritage and Lifegate could meet in the Dec. 3 championship game. The Eagles bested Lifegate earlier in the season by a 48-0 score.

The Eagles’ strengths lie on both sides of the football n a potent offensive attack that averaged more than 56 points per game combined with an aggressive defense that limited opponents to less than 20 points in each contest.

Five of Heritage’s wins during the 2005 season were accomplished through the 45-point "mercy rule," meaning that the Eagles led their adversaries by 45 points or more from halftime or beyond. Meanwhile, the Eagle defense shut out the other teams in four of the nine victories.

Falcons earn playoff victory

By Heath Meador
Special to the Gazette-Enterprise
Posted: 11/11/05

TEMPLE — The Lifegate Falcons traveled to Frazee field and prevailed in a hard-fought 52-43 victory over the Joshua Christian Academy Knights in the first round of the TAPPS Division II Playoffs.

In a game that the Falcons were expected to win handily, the Knights scored first, 3:14 into the first quarter, on a 19-yard run by Kody Calk. Calk's touchdown served notice that the Knights came to play and win.

On the ensuing drive, the Falcons responded with a 9-yard strike from James Hall to Dustin Corder, evening the score at 6-all. The Falcons then took the lead on the last play of the first quarter with another touchdown pass from James Hall, a 15-yarder to Aaron Feidler.

With the Falcons entering the second quarter leading 14-6, the Knights regained the lead with two straight Andrew Wolfenberger touchdown passes; one to Justin Hance (43 yards) and another to B.J. Booth (12yards).

With 3:42 left in the second quarter and the Falcons trailing 18-14, they drove the ball 60 yards down the field on a drive that was capped by a 1-yard TD plunge by Corder.

The Knights responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Calk to Adam O'Dell on the final play of the half. Kalk then scored on a running play to successfully convert the only extra-point conversion of the evening for the Knights and sent them to halftime with a 25-22 lead.

The second half started with a James Hall 41-yard kickoff return to the Knights’ 9-yard line, leaving the Falcons poised to get the upper hand in this unexpected offensive shootout. Corder scored from a yard out 1:40 later, and the Falcons regained the lead, 28-25.

The Knights responded with a 56-yard TD scamper by Calk. Not to be outdone, the Falcons wrestled back the lead on a James Hall TD pass of 3 yards to Cruz Sepeda. Entering the fourth quarter, the Falcons held a 36-31 advantage.

The fourth quarter proved to be as exciting as the first three. The Falcons struck first by way of another TD pass from James Hall, this time a 45-yard bomb to Corder.

With the Falcons sitting on their largest lead of the night 44-31, Lifegate head coach John Rabon asked the kickoff team to attempt to pin the Knights deep in their own territory. Alex Schaeffer came through, blasting the Calk at the Knights 11-yard line.

The Knights then responded by scoring two straight touchdowns, but unfortunately for them, the Falcons’ goal-line defense stopped both extra-point attempts, keeping Lifegate ahead, 44-43, with three minutes remaining.

At that point, the Falcons played some old-fashioned smash mouth football. The Falcon offense lined up and ran the ball right at the Knights, eating away at the clock in an attempt to preserve their one-point lead. The Falcons had a third-and-11 at the Knights’ 29-yard line with 1:58 left in the game.

Rabon called the fullback dive for Jeremy Meador, who drudged through the Knights’ interior defense, running over three defenders for a 12-yard gain. The run gave the Falcons a first down at the Knights’ 17-yard line with 1:45 left.

After the Knights used their final timeout of the game with 1:01 left to play, senior Daniel Hall stiff-armed two Knights' defenders in a gutsy 15-yard TD scamper that iced the game for the Falcons.

With the victory, the Falcons advance to the quarterfinal round to take on Granbury Happy Hill. That game will take place at 7:30 p.m., Friday, at Frazee Field in Temple.

Lifegate 52 , Joshua Christian 43

Scoring (in six-man football, a kicked extra point is 2 points, run or pass PAT is 1 point):
First Quarter
JCA 6:46 Kody Calk 19 yd run, run no good (JCA 6-0)
LCS 4:30 Dustin Corder 9 yd pass from James Hall, kick no good (Tied 6-6)
LCS 0:00 Aaron Fiedler 15 yd pass from James Hall, Fiedler kick (LCS 14-6)
Second Quarter
JCA 5:15 Justin Hance 43 yd pass from Andrew Wolfenberger; pass no good (LCS 14-12)
JCA 3:42 B J Booth 12 yd pass from Wolfenberger; run no good (JCA 18-14)
LCS 1:54 Corder 1 yd run; Fiedler kick (LCS 22-18)
JCA 0:01 Adam O'Dell 18 yfd pass from Calk; Calk run (JCA 25-22)
Third Quarter
LCS 8:20 Corder 1 yd run; kick failed (LCS 28-25)
JCA 6:50 Calk 56 yd run; run failed (JCA 31-28)
LCS 2:54 Cruz Sepeda 3 yd pass from James Hall; Fiedler kick (LCS 36-31)
Fourth Quarter
LCS 8:20 Corder 45 yd pass from James Hall; Fiedler kick (LCS 44-31)
JCA 7:25 Calk 54 yd run; run failed (LCS 44-37)
JCA 4:03 Hance, 3 yd pass from Wolfenberger; pass failed (LCS 44-43)
LCS 1:09 Daniel Hall 18 yd pass from James Hall; Fiedler kick (LCS 52-43)

Individual Statistics
Rushing
Lifegate: James Hall 11-59;, Dustin Corder 14-41-2 TD; Jeremiah Meador 2-6; James Heikkenen 1-5; Daniel Hall 4-(minus 2) Joshua: Kody Calk 18-193-3 TD; Andrew Wolfenberger 9-37; Kwang Hyun Jo 1-(minus 4)
Passing:
Lifegate: James Hall 13-21-195 yds-2 Int-5 TD Joshua: Andrew Wolfenberger 13-25-177 yds-1 Int-3 TD; Kody Calk 1-1-18-0 Int-1 YD; Adam O'Dell 1-1-11-0 Int-0 TD
Recieving:
Lifegate: Dustin Corder 4-91-2 TD; Daniel Hall 3-42,1 td; Cruz Sepeda 3-40-1 TD; Aaron Fielder 3-22-1TD
Joshua: Justin Hance 5-109-2 TD; Adam O'Dell 5-46-1 TD; B J Booth 3-32-1 TD; Kody Calk 2-19

Lifegate starts playoff run

By Jason Orts
Gazette-Enterprise
Posted: 11/11/05

SEGUIN — It’s rare that a coach worries about his team looking past a game in the playoffs.

But that’s the dilemma Lifegate head coach John Rabon faces this week as his team prepares to take on the Joshua Christian School Knights.

"It’s going to be real hard to focus on these guys because we would have Happy Hill next week," Rabon said. "It’s real important for the kids to focus. We had a short, physical practice yesterday. But our seniors have done a good job of keeping the younger guys going."

The Knights, which finished with a 2-8 record this season, took the fourth spot in their district and got into the playoffs when another team in their district forfeited its final game. Under Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) rules, no team that forfeits a district game is allowed to play in the postseason.

"They Joshua Christian kind of backed into the playoffs," Rabon said. "They finished fifth, but the team in front of them didn’t play its last game. They said their kids were all beat up, and they just didn’t play it."

TAPPS rules also adjust the number of playoff teams from each district based on the number of teams in the district. There are seven teams in Joshua Christian’s district, which means four schools get in. Only two of the four teams in Lifegate’s district reached the playoffs.

"They already had their stuff put up because they had a bye last week," Rabon said. "They already had their stuff turned in and had a basketball game scheduled for Friday."

The Falcons enter the playoffs with a 9-1 record and the second-place team in their district and are coming off a 54-6 win over Boerne Vanguard last week.

Rabon said the Knights have two athletes the Falcons will have to worry about.

"Their quarterback is real quick, so we’ll have to watch him," Rabon said. "Their best athlete is a wide receiver/running back who the quarterback likes to get the ball to."

Rabon admitted he doesn’t know a lot about this week’s opponent but said the Knights lost an early-season game to Temple Holy Trinity, a team the Falcons destroyed in the season opener, 49-0.

"They run almost everything from a tight set," Rabon said. "They run what they call a jay bird set, which is an offset I-formation. Any time you want to run from a tight set, you want to run the ball. Almost every pass they have is off of play action."

Rabon said with the Happy Hill game looming next week and knowing it will have scouts at this game, he’s not going to do anything fancy.

"We’re going to line up in one formation," Rabon said. "That’s why I try to have one formation that I can run almost our entire offense out of. We pretty much play a vanilla defense as it is, so that shouldn’t change."

The Falcons and Knights kick off at 6 p.m., Friday, at Central Texas Christian School, in Temple.

Eagles TAPPS Dance Toward Playoffs
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 09, 2005 - 03:44:24 pm CST

Coleman Akin accounted for five Heritage touchdowns, four on TD receptions, as the Eagles blasted Cedar Park Summit 46-0 in Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) six-man football action played Friday on the Fredericksburg Middle School Field.

The game, the regular season finale for both schools, was ended at halftime under the 45-point "Mercy Rule", the same way in which four other Heritage victories were achieved.

Heritage kept its undefeated record intact (3-0 in Division II, District 4; 9-0 overall). During the last two years, the defending state TAPPS champion Eagles have compiled a 21-0 record. Last year, Heritage posted a 12-0 mark on its trophy run.

By winning its league crown, Heritage will sit out the first round of the upcoming playoffs with a bye, entering its postseason play on the weekend of Nov. 18-19 when the Eagles will meet the winner of this Friday’s match-up between Dallas Covenant School and Wichita Falls Christian School.

In 2004, Heritage defeated Wichita Falls Christian by a 52-6 score in state playoff action.

Akin opened last Friday night’s scoring for Heritage by hauling in a pass from quarterback Joe Beall that went 60 yards for a touchdown less than three minutes into the game. Beall boosted the Eagle margin to 8-0 with a successful two-point kick.

After regaining possession on a turnover, Heritage scored quickly when Akin mounted a 27-yard run to pay dirt.

Toward the end of the first period, Akin reeled in another TD pass, this one came from Logan Lyda and covered 26 yards. Beall’s third PAT kick increased the Eagle lead to 24-0.

Two Akin scoring receptions in the second stanza n one from Lyda from ten yards out and the other from Ethan Beall for 40 yards n put Heritage ahead by an impressive 40-0 advantage.

Lyda then ended the Eagle scoring machine when he tallied a touchdown on a 30-yard rush with 1:49 remaining before halftime. The points-after kick failed, however, leaving Heritage up by a 46-0 count.

The shortened contest ended when the second quarter clock hit the 0:00 mark.

As a team, the Eagles accumulated 251 yards of total offense, with 146 of those coming on six completed passes (out of eight attempted, with no interceptions).

Akin picked up 72 yards on two carries, with teammate Lyda adding 38 more on his four rushes. Akin also amassed 136 receiving yards on four receptions.

Cedar Park recovered the only Heritage fumble in the game, but suffered two turnovers of its own, losing one of three fumbles and having a Marshall Macari pass to be intercepted.

Heritage also held Cedar Park to only 25 yards of total offense (21 from a 5-of-14 passing effort, four on 15 rushing plays). Justin and John Louis were dropped for a total of minus 29 yards.

Eagles Clinch Share Of Title
Posted: Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005 - 04:19:17 pm CDT

A tie for first place in their district is the least the Heritage School Eagles can expect at the end of the regular season by virtue of their 48-0 win over Seguin Lifegate in Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) six-man Division II, District 4-1A action Friday night.

The game, which matched up the district’s top two schools, was played on the Fredericksburg Middle School Field.

Heritage (2-0, 7-0) hosts league opponent Boerne Vanguard in a 7 p.m. game this Friday, in the Harper High School Stadium.

Running back Coleman Akin was instrumental in scoring five of the Eagles’ seven touchdowns. In the second quarter, he ran 15 yards for a tally, later in the same period, added two more TDs on rushes of nine and two yards. In the third, and what proved to be the final stanza due to the 45-point "Mercy Rule", Akin out-distanced the Lifegate defenders on a 55-yard run to the end zone. Three minutes later, he hauled in a Joe Beall aerial on a 28-yard pass play.

But it was Robert Ramsay who got Heritage on the scoreboard first, carrying the ball 26 yards to cross the goal line less than three minutes into the game. Beall added the two-point conversion kick to give the Eagles an 8-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Beall tossed an 18-yard pass to Nick Klein for Heritage’s next touchdown.

For the game, Beall collected 134 yards on his seven completed passes while Akin recorded 38 yards on his three successful aerials.

Meanwhile, Ramsay led Heritage with 68 receiving yards on his two receptions, followed by Joe Neel who collected 33 yards on one catch. Others picking up yardage through the air for the Eagles include Akin (28 yards on one catch), Klein (23 on two receptions) and Luke Andrews (20 yards on two catches).

In the ground yardage attack, Akin amassed 141 yards on 12 carries.

As a team, Heritage picked up a total of 332 offensive yards, with 160 coming on the ground and the other 172 gained from passing.

The stingy Eagles defense allowed Seguin Lifegate to get only 83 yards of offense, 63 on the ground and 20 in the air. Heritage also intercepted one pass and recovered a Falcon fumble.

Lifegate stays perfect

By Jason Orts
Gazette-Enterprise
Posted: 10/14/05

GERONIMO — Before the season, the Lifegate Falcons were picked to finish third in their four-team district.

Lifegate head coach John Rabon said he believed his team would beat at least one of the two teams picked ahead of the Falcons — Frederickburg Heritage and San Antonio Town East — and advance to the playoffs.

Rabon’s prediction rang true after a 48-0 win over East Central on Friday night, which put the Falcons in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid.

Lifegate improved to 7-0 on the year and 1-0 in district behind 316 yards of total offense. The Eagles fell to 2-5 and 0-2 in district play.

"I think the effort was excellent," said head coach John Rabon. "If we can improve on some things, we dropped a couple of passes and we missed some blocks. We just need to get that stuff taken care of and we’ll be fine."

The Falcons dominated Friday’s game from the opening kickoff. After the Eagles’ opening march stalled at the Lifegate 15, the Falcons took the ball 65 yards in four plays, culminated by a 15-yard run around the left end by James Hall for a 6-0 Lifegate lead.

Another Eagle march into Falcon territory ended on another incomplete pass at the 24-yard line. Hall ran for 30 yards to the Eagle 26 on a third-and-15 play to keep the drive alive. After three plays netted only a yard, Hall passed to Daniel Corder, who pitched the ball to Cruz Sepeda on the hook-’n-lateral, and Sepeda took it in for a 25-yard touchdown and a 12-0 lead on the last play of the first quarter.

The Falcons were in the end zone again with 4:07 left in the first half on a 13-yard scamper up the middle by James Heikkenen, capping a four-play, 35-yard drive.

Town East advanced to the Lifegate 19 on its next drive, but on fourth-and-12, the Eagles’ pass went for only four yards, and the Falcons took over again with :33 seconds left before halftime.

Time wasn’t an issue. On the first play, Hall found a wide-open Aaron Fiedler at midfield, and Fielder outran the Town East defense for a 65-yard touchdown. Fiedler added the extra point, and the Falcons took a 26-0 advantage into halftime.

They wasted no time tacking onto the lead after the break. On the first play from scrimmage, Hall raced 36 yards to the end zone and a 34-0 lead.

The Falcons appeared well on their way to a 45-point, mercy-rule win, when Hall found Sepeda for a 6-yard scoring strike. Fiedler again tacked on the extra point, and with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter, the Falcons drew to within one score of finishing off the Eagles.

They got their chance on the next drive, but they missed a field-goal attempt — the first in Lifegate history.

"We tried the field goal because we may need one at some point, and we wanted to give Fiedler a chance to try one in a game situation," Rabon said. "He didn’t make it, but at least now he’s tried one."

The miss didn’t hurt.

On the first play of Town East’s ensuing possession, Corder picked off a pass and returned it to the Eagle 15. Four plays later, Hall threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Corder, ending the game.

The Falcon defense limited the Eagles to 90 yards of total offense and three first downs and gave its offense solid field position all night. The Falcons swarmed to the ball and were able to make tackles when they had the chance.

"The key to any kind of football is getting a lot of people to the ball," Rabon said. "Sometimes you’re going to miss, but there’s somebody else there. We missed a time or two, but we’re playing pretty good defense."

Lifegate gets its chance to knock off the other team predicted to finish ahead of it in the district standings in a showdown with defending state champion Fredericksburg Heritage next week.

"I feel like the sky’s the limit, and we don’t have anything to lose," Rabon said. "We don’t have anything to lose, and they’re the defending state champs, so they do. That’s how we’re going to approach it. I don’t think we can match them man for man, so we’ve got to keep their offense off the field."

Lifegate and Fredericksburg Heritage kick off at 7:30 p.m., Friday, in Fredericksburg.

Lifegate 48 , Town East 0

Scoring (in six-man football, a kicked extra point is 2 points, run or pass PAT is 1 point):
First Quarter
Lifegate — James Hall 15 run (kick failed) 5:11
Lifegate — Cruz Sepeda 25 pass from James Hall (kick failed) :00
Second Quarter
Lifegate — James Heikkenen 13 run (kick failed) 4:07
Lifegate — Aaron Fiedler 65 pass from James Hall (Fiedler kick) :18
Third Quarter
Lifegate — James Hall 36 run (Fiedler kick) 9:47
Lifegate — Sepeda 6 pass from James Hall (Fiedler kick) 3:07
Fourth Quarter
Lifegate — Dustin Corder 4 pass from James Hall (Fiedler kick) 8:17

Individual Statistics
RUSHING — Lifegate, James Hall 4-84, TD, Corder 6-41, Heikkenen 5-31, TD, Daniel Hall 2-14; Town East, Paul Adkins 18-17, Grey Hardin 11-5, William Gary 1-4.
PASSING — Lifegate, James Hall 8-16-0, 146, 4 TD, Sepeda 1-1-0, 0; Town East, Aaron Lawson 7-14-1, 64, Hardin 0-1-0, 0, Adkins 0-1-0, 0.
RECEIVING — Lifegate, Fiedler 1-65, TD, Sepeda 5-64, TD, Corder 2-17, Daniel Hall 1-0; Town East, Gary 3-47, Brent Davis 2-13, Hardin 2-4.
INTERCEPTIONS — Lifegate, Corder 1-22.
RECORDS — Lifegate 7-0, 1-0; Town East 2-5, 0-2.

Lifegate keeps on rolling

Gazette-Enterprise Correspondent
Posted: 10/07/05

BELLVILLE — The Lifegate Falcons made the two-hour trek to Bellville to play the Faith Academy Knights in a non-district game that was rescheduled because of Hurricane Rita.

A 46-yard scoring strike from Joseph Frank to Brett Andreas just 14 seconds into the contest sent the Falcons a message that if they wanted to stay undefeated, they have to fight for it. The Falcons got the message and turned things around in time to come up with a 62-38 win, running their record to 6-0 on the year.

After being stunned by the Knights’ early score, Lifegate quickly regained its composure by scoring three straight touchdowns. The first was 31-yard strike from junior quarterback James Hall to Aaron Fiedler.

On the ensuing possession, Faith was faced with a fourth-and-17 on the Lifegate 26-yard line. Frank dropped back to pass, but he was pressured by Jeremy Meador and a bad pitch attempt was recovered by Lifegate’s James Heikkenen at the Knight 37.

Five plays later, Dustin Corder struck paydirt from 6 yards away to give the Falcons a 14-8 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Hall pounced on a fumble to give the Falcon offense another opportunity at the Knight 32. Four plays later, after eluding three Faith pass rushers, Hall hit Fiedler for their second touchdown connection of the quarter. This extended the Falcon lead to 22-8, and it seemed as Lifegate was rolling again.

However, Faith had not received the memo. The Knights struck back with a 37-yard pass from Frank to Gaston Williamson to close the gap 22-16 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was not as good for the Lifegate offense, but the defense came alive. Hall scored again, this time on a 5-yard run, but his score was quickly countered by a 40-yard run by Andreas, leaving the Falcons with 28-24 lead at halftime.

Lifegate head coach John Rabon made a statement to his team at halftime despite not saying much to them.

"Go to the end of the field and figure this thing out for yourselves," Rabon told his team. "You guys need to decide if you want to win this game for yourselves. I don’t have anything to say — now go."

Whatever it was Rabon wanted the Falcons to figure out, they did.

Hall and Corder hooked up for scores of 57 and 68 yards in the second half, and Hall added another TD run of 8 yards, while Corder also found the end zone on the ground, a 1-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.

Andreas scored from 74 yards out with 3:11 left in the third quarter, and John Derba caught a 32-yard scoring toss from Frank early in the fourth. But by that point, the Falcons had all but secured the win.

"With our senior fullback and middle linebacker Daniel Hall out with an injury, our young guys like Robert Turner, Beau Hines and Jeremy Meador stepped up and gave us some valuable contributions when we needed them," Rabon said.

The second phase of the Falcons’ season begins at 7:30 p.m., Friday, when they play host to the San Antonio Town East Eagles.

Lifegate 62 , B. Faith. 38

Scoring (in six-man football, a kicked extra point is 2 points, run or pass PAT is 1 point):
1st Quarter
BF — Brett Andreas 46 pass from Joseph Frank (kick successful) 9:45
L — Aaron Fiedler 31 pass from James Hall (Fiedler kick) 6:52
L — Dustin Corder 6 run (kick failed) 4:35
L — Fiedler 28 pass from Hall (Fiedler kick) 1:40
BF — Gaston Williamson 37 pass from Frank (kick successful) :46
2nd Quarter
L — Hall 5 run (kick failed) 5:28
BF — Andreas 40 run (kick successful) 3:49
3rd Quarter
L — Hall 8 run (kick failed) 3:48
BF — Andreas 74 run (kick successful) 3:11
L — Corder 57 pass from Hall (Fiedler kick) 2:40
4th Quarter
L — Corder 1 run (Fiedler kick) 9:58
BF — John Derba 32 pass from Frank (kick failed) 8:13
L — Corder 68 pass from Hall (Fiedler kick) 5:49
L — James Heikkenen 1 run (kick failed) 2:26

Individual Statistics
Rushing — LCS: Corder 12-168, 2 TD, Hall 7-85, 2 TD, Cruz Sepeda 4-32, James Heikkenen 3-21, TD, Jeremy Meador 2-7; BFA: Andreas 7-110, 2 TD, Frank 9-37, Williamson 4-22, Scott Hunter 6-17.
Passing — LCS: Hall 13-21-0, 311, 4 TD; BFA: Frank 10-19-3, 178, 3 TD.
Receiving — LCS: Corder 7-177, 2 TD, Fiedler 3-88, 2 TD, Sepeda 2-26, Meador 1-12, Heikkenen 1-8; BFA: Andreas 6-84, TD, Derba 2-47, TD, Willismson 4-37, TD, Hunter 6-10.

Heritage Eagles Unbeaten
Posted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 - 03:59:19 pm CDT

After jumping out to a 32-7 halftime lead, Heritage School saw Austin NYOS score a pair of six-pointers in the early part of the third period -- including an interception returned to the endzone -- before blistering the gridiron with four consecutive TDs as the Eagles posted a 58-33 win over the host Jaguars last Friday.

The game was played in Hutto.

Heritage will open Division II, District 4 action this Friday when the Eagles travel to San Antonio Town East for a 4:30 p.m. contest.

The Eagles have won all five of their games so far this season and are a perfect 17-0 since beginning Texas Association of Parochial and Private Schools (TAPPS) six-man football in 2004.

Friday's tale-of-the-tape was fairly even between the two schools, with the Eagles leading in first downs (19 to 13), passing yards (242 to 175), and total offensive yards (383 to 340).

Coleman Akin led Heritage in the rushing department with 92 yards on 16 carries. Robert Ramsay added 47 ground yards on his six attempts and Luke Andrews chipped in 31 on his ten tries. Akin rushed for two touchdowns, while Ramsay also ran for a pair and caught a third, and Andrews scored once on the ground and through the air.

Eagle quarterback Joe Beall completed ten of 15 passes on the night for 203 yards and three tallies.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ramsay and Beall each collected eight tackles (six solo, two assisted for Ramsay; seven solo, one assisted for Beall).

The Eagle defenders also recovered one of the Jags' two fumbles.

Akin put Heritage on the board first with a one-yard run to paydirt midway through the opening quarter. Beall's successful two-point kick put the Eagles up, 8-0.

But three minutes later, Austin NYOS responded with a TD pass of its own when Daniel Pew fired a 21-yard aerial to David Johnson. A one-point pass conversion left the Jaguars down by one, 8-7.

The Eagles, however, took control of the game (at least for the moment) on their very next possession when they drove the ball downfield, with Ramsay capping the effort with a one-yard plunge. The PAT gave Heritage a 16-7 margin.

Two second period TDs by the team from Gillespie County --a 36-yard reception by Andrews and a ten-yard run by Akin --left the Eagles holding on to a 32-7 lead at intermission.

But in the second half, the NYOS Jaguars were not ready to go quietly into the night, scoring two quick touchdowns and crawling back into contention. First, Johnson found Josh Alldredge open on a 53-yard TD pass only 22 seconds into the second half. Moments later, Johnson hauled in an errant Beall aerial and returned it 61 yards for another score.

NYOS missed both conversions following the touchdowns, but was, nonetheless, making a game of it, trailing by only a 32-19 score.

Heritage decided it was muscle-flexing time as the Eagles scored three touchdowns in the next five and a half minutes of the third stanza to blast their way to a 52-19 advantage.

Ramsay rumbled 33 yards for his second rushing TD of the game, with 8:36 left in the quarter. Less than a minute later, Andrews scored from 12 yards out, then Nick Klein hauled in a 13-yard Beall pass for another tally.

Then, as if to make a statement with an exclamation point, Beall found Ramsay open on a 14-yard TD to end the Eagles' scoring machine for the night with 7:49 remaining in the contest.

The Jags managed to tack on two touchdowns in the late going, both two-yard runs by Andrew Lindner, but it was simply too little, too late.

Eagles At FHS Stadium Friday

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 21, 2005 - 03:13:17 pm CDT

Although the Heritage Eagles racked up their third win of the season in as many outings, it was the closest margin of victory for the defending state six-man TAPPS football champions as they earned an otherwise comfortable 59-44 win at Austin Hill Country, a TAPPS Division I school, this past Friday.

Heritage will return home this weekend when the Eagles host Round Rock Christian in a 7 p.m. game to be played in the Fredericksburg High School Stadium.

Although Austin HC gained more yards than did Heritage (423 to 366 in total yards, 253 to 237 rushing and 170 to 129 passing), four lost fumbles by the hosts might have been the difference. One of those fumbles came at the Eagles' one-yard line. On the ensuing drive, Heritage marched downfield for a touchdown.

Coleman Akin scored five of the Eagles' TDs, all on the ground, as he rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries for the game.

Heritage built up a 23-8 lead after one quarter on the strength of two Robert Ramsay touchdowns (the first one on a one-yard run, the second on a 45-yard pass from quarterback Joe Beall) that sandwiched an Akin TD carry of one yard.

Austin Hill Country managed to score in the opening stanza when Zack Greer hauled in a 29-yard aerial from David Brandt.

Both schools scored an identical number of points in the three remaining quarters: eight, 14 and 14, respectively.

Robert Ramsay got Heritage on the scoreboard first with a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, followed shortly thereafter by another one-yard plunge, this one by Akin.

The Eagles' lone TD in the second period came on a 30-yard run by Akin, with Beall completing the deal on a two-point kick.

In the second half, Akin scored three more times on runs of 39, two and 33 yards. Ramsay got the other TD when he carried the ball over from 15 yards out.

Falcons extinguishes Flames

Gazette-Enterprise Correspondent
Posted: 09/16/05

GERONIMO — As the sun began to set over Erwin-Lee field, the Lifegate Christian School Falcons and their fans knew that the evening’s match with Faith Academy of Marble Falls was going to be the biggest test of the young season. The Flames had easily handled the Falcons in the past two years in Marble Falls.

But any apprehension Falcon fans may have felt entering the game disappeared as the game wore on, and the Falcons extended their record to 4-0 with a 47-0 shutout, ending at 7:36 in the fourth quarter under the six-man mercy rule.

"This has to be the biggest win in our history," said Lifegate head coach John Rabon. "Faith is well-coached, has a great history of playoff competition."

The Falcons have now pitched three consecutive shutouts and have outscored opponents, 197-6. The defense has yet to give up a point, as the only touchdown scored against Lifegate this season was on a kickoff return.

"We haven’t allowed a touchdown against our defense all season. In six-man football, that’s amazing. Some coaches say that in six-man, any defense that allows one less point than you can score is a great defense. We can count on our defense to hold our opponents, make opportunities for our offense and that will help us as we start district next month."

Early indications showed that Lifegate was going to have to work for this victory. The Flames’ Joseph Lambert recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and put the visitors in business on the Lifegate 33, but they were unable to get a first down. The Falcons took over on downs and drove to the Flame 1-yard line in nine plays, but Marble Falls Faith held on four downs at the to take possession at its own 1.

Like it has in their previous three wins, the Falcon defense stepped up and proved its worth. Dustin Corder sacked Flame quarterback Taylor Stowers in the end zone for the first-ever Falcon safety, and Lifegate led 2-0 with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Falcon offense found its stride in the second quarter. James Hall hit Corder for a 39-yard scoring strike, the first of four touchdown passes for the junior quarterback. Lifegate kicker Aaron Fiedler recovered a fumble on the next kickoff, and three plays later, Daniel Hall rambled 7 yards to paydirt, and the Falcons led 17-0. Just before halftime, Fielder grabbed a 13-yard pass from James Hall for a 25-0 lead at the break.

Play was stopped midway in the third quarter, as the Flames’ Joseph Lambert was taken off the field and transported by ambulance to Guadalupe Valley Hospital for a suspected anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Late in the third quarter, the Falcon offense got moving again, helped by a blocked punt by Daniel Hall, which set up first-and-goal at the Flames’ 8-yard line. Corder punched the ball in from 7 yards out for a 33-0 advantage. After a short Flames punt, Cruz Sepeda caught a 5-yard missile from James Hall on the final play of the third quarter for a 41-0 lead.

For the first time all season, the Lifegate players and fans experienced a fourth quarter of play. After holding the Flames in four plays, the Falcons took over at their own 35 yard line. Two plays later, Cruz Sepeda pulled in a 28 yard pass from James Hall to end the game with 7:36 remaining in the quarter.

"Our defense really stepped up to play tonight and put in a great effort," Rabon said. "Guys like James Heikkenen and Daniel Hall stopped the sweep. Jeremy Meador, Aaron Fiedler and Cruz Sepeda didn’t give their quarterback the time to throw and our tackling was sharp. Being able to play Jeremy at nose guard freed up Daniel to put pressure on the passer. Offensively, we were able to spread the wealth and do a lot of things well tonight."

The Falcons gained 320 yards on offense while holding the Flames to 57 from the line of scrimmage. They also added three turnovers to their season total, which is now 20.

James Hall threw for 193 yards and four touchdowns while running for 51 yards. Corder caught four passes for 74 yards, and Daniel Hall led the defense with seven tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt.

On Friday night, the Falcons travel down IH-10 to take on Bellville Faith Academy for a 7:30 kickoff. The Falcons dropped a game to the Knights, 66-50, last season on late-game turnovers.

Four of the Falcons’ six remaining games are on the road. Lifegate returns to Erwin-Lee field on Oct. 14 for its district opener and Homecoming game against San Antonio Town East Christian School.

Lifegate 47 , Marble Falls Faith 0

Scoring (in six-man football, a kicked extra point is 2 points, run or pass PAT is 1 point):
First Quarter
LCS 0:50 - Safety, Dustin Corder tacked Taylor Stowers in end zone (LCS 2-0)
Second Quarter
LCS 6:04 - Dustin Corder 39 yd pass from James Hall; Aaron Fiedler kick (LCS 10-0)
LCS 4:37 - Daniel Hall 10 yd run, Daniel Hall PAT pass from Cruz Sepeda (LCS 17-0)
LCS 0:37 - Aaron Fiedler 13 yd pass from James Hall, Aaron Fiedler kick (LCS 25-0)
Third Quarter
LCS 3:55 - Dustin Corder 7 yd run, Aaron Fiedler kick (LCS 33-0)
LCS 0:00 - Cruz Sepeda 5 yd pass from James Hall, Aaron Fiedler kick (LCS 41-0)
Fourth Quarter
LCS 7:36 - Cruz Sepeda 28 yd pass from James Hall, no conversion attempt (LCS 47-0)
Game ended under 45 point rule

Individual Statistics
Rushing
Lifegate: James Hall 5-51; Daniel Hall 10-42-1 TD; James Heikkenen 4-17; Dustin Corder 4-12, 1 TD; Robert Turner 1-5; Aaron Fiedler 2-0
Faith: Barron Albring 7-23; Hunter Thomas 3-7; Alfred Cottingham 5-2; Taylor Stowers 3-(minus 3)
Passing:
Lifegate: James Hall 14-19-193 yds-1 Int-4 TD; Dustin Corder 0-2-0 yds-0 Int-0 TD
Faith: Taylor Stowers 3-17-28 yds-1 Int-0 TD
Recieiving:
Lifegate: Dustin Corder 4-74-1 TD;Cruz Sepeda 3-51, 2 TD; Daniel Hall 5-36; Aaron Fiedler 2-22, 1 TD
Faith: Ryan Earwood 1-12; Nathan Fajardo 1-10; Hunter Thomas 1-6

When Boerne resident Tripper Mathews was finishing the eighth grade at the Winston School, he was faced with a difficult decision:

Should he stay at the independent school where he had flourished academically for the past four years and forget about his football dreams, or should he go to his local public school that has a football team and rely on supplemental help for his dysgraphia, a learning condition that affects writing skills?

Finally, Tripper made up his mind: He was staying at Winston so he could go to college.

"It was a tossup," said mom Dana Mathews. "He ultimately chose Winston because he knew that he could have more academic success."

The Winston School, which serves kindergarten through 12th grade, provides specialized instruction to students with learning disabilities.

Two years later, Tripper has not regretted his decision to stay. He is a member of the National Honor Society and college is a likely prospect.

But Tripper also wears a blue-and-orange jersey emblazoned with the number 42. He is starting his second year as center for the Eagles, the Winston School's six-man football team.

"It's a fast sport — nothing slow about it," said the high school junior, whose job is to snap the ball to the quarterback.

Although the football program is new to the school, there are several other organized sports at Winston, including soccer, baseball, basketball and track.

Tripper and his 19 teammates now are able to play football because of Tripper's dad, Tommy Mathews, and a few other dedicated parents.

Two years ago Tommy, who has volunteered more than 250 hours as an assistant coach, got together with Tim Moravits, a contractor, and his wife, Geri, and raised more than $100,000 in funds and in-kind donations — including 1,000 dump-truck loads of dirt — to bring football to Winston.

"We all sat down one day and we all just kind of schemed about getting the field right," said Moravits, whose son Richard also is on the team. "There were children out here with wagons picking up rocks."

Of course, six-man is different than the traditional 11-man game. For starters, it has only six players on the field at one time, and any of them can receive a pass. It's played on an 80-yard field, with 15 yards needed for a first down. In comparison, a regulation football field is 100 yards, and 10 yards are required for a first down.

According to the Web site www.sixmanfootball.com, there are about 100 public schools and as many as 50-60 private schools participating in six-man football in Texas.

But how the game works is not as important as what the players get out of it, said Ron Aaron, the school's vice president of institutional advancement.

Discipline, respect, teamwork, unity, ethics, dedication and commitment are just a few of the skills officials and students have mentioned.

"Now they are more active in school," said head coach and Athletic Director Mark Hambrick. "They'll talk more in class. They will volunteer. Even parents comment (on them) cleaning their bedrooms."

The team — 15 of whom had never been in a uniform before this year — has yet to win any games, but officials say they are improving every day and have impressed other coaches with their newly acquired skills.

"They never quit," said Steve Yocham, a longtime teacher and coach at the school. "You can't teach that in high school to someone from the outside."

What's more, school officials say, having football at Winston affects more than just the players. A cheerleading squad, a pep squad and a band all have come about because of the football activity.

"Our kids come from all over," Tommy said. "The football game, the football event, it's created a greater sense of community."

Yocham agrees.

"It's been a whole school experience," he said. "Football has meant a lot to our school."

For his part, Tripper said he is grateful to his dad for the role he has played in creating the new team.

"I feel proud of him," Tripper said. "I want to get a full ride (scholarship) to school somewhere to show him I'm getting something out of this."

Two in a row

Gazette-Enterprise Correspondent
Posted: 09/03/05

HOUSTON — Coming off a convincing opening night win, the Lifegate Falcons made a long Saturday trip to Houston to take on the Clear Lake Christian School Eagles.

Except for $3-per gallon gas, the trip was rewarding, as the Falcons headed back on I-10 with a 49-0 victory, ending at halftime under the 45-point mercy rule.

An early morning rain left the field muddy along the sidelines, limiting the ability for either team to run the option. The Eagles were able to control the ball early, taking the opening kickoff and moving to the Falcon 25-yard line before turning it over on downs.

Two plays later, the Falcons caughed up the football, but Cruz Sepeda picked off an Eagle pass, and Lifegate took the ball over on its 26. It was the last time the ball was put into play on the Falcon side of the field.

The Lifegate offense moved 54 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 12-yard pass from James Hall to his brother Daniel Hall, giving the Falcons a 6-0 lead with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter.

Lifegate came alive in the second quarter, scoring 43 unanswered points. James Hall started the scoring with a 1-yard run and tossed another score to freshman Rene Cantu to up the lead to 22-0.

Following another defensive stand, James Hall returned an Eagle punt for a 25-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 28-0 with 3:49 remaining in the quarter. Another James Hall punt return of 63 yards put the ball at the Eagle 5-yard line, and James Heikkenen punched it in from there for a 36-0 Falcon lead.

Two plays later, Daniel Hall picked up a fumble and lumbered 12 yards to the end zone. Dustin Corder then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and then caught a 28-yard touchdown pass to finish the scoring just before the half.

The Falcon defense again was the key, limiting the Eagles to just 3 net yards on offense and getting five turnovers.

Lifegate head coach John Rabon said, "We played real well as a unit, and we caused turnovers, something that was a problem for us last year. Dustin, Daniel and Jeremy did a great job tackling, but if James Heikkenen and Cruz Sepeda didn’t keep the ball carriers inside, they wouldn’t be able to get to them and make the tackles. James Hall was our offensive star. He threw well, executed well and had two great punt returns."

For Lifegate, the win was the first shutout victory in school history and gave the Falcons their first two-game winning streak.

Lifegate returns home Friday for a battle with Corpus Christian Annapolis Christian Academy. The Warriors are defending Texas Christian Athletic League (TCAL) Division II champions.

Heritage Opening Season
Posted: Wednesday, Aug 31, 2005 - 03:58:46 pm CDT

Going 12-0 and winning a state championship is something akin to being president of the United States n it's a great position to be in, but there's not much room for improvement.

That's where head coach Tim Shipman and his Heritage School Eagles find themselves as they prepare to open the 2005 season at River City Christian School this Friday at 5 p.m.

But while the trophy brings with it a certain amount of pride and prestige, apparently not everyone in the world of Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) six-man football is looking for Heritage to end the season with another championship. After all, a majority of the pollsters have picked the Eagles' opponent in that title game n Granbury Happy Hill n to pick up the hardware, with Heritage relegated to the second spot.

But even that lack of "respect" doesn't bother Shipman. "We're exactly where we'd like to be," he said, indicating that the Eagles don't mind flying under the radar screen.

Being picked number two in the state also gives the Heritage team "more motivation to work harder."

(Note: Granbury Happy Hill lost its season-opener last Saturday to Rockwall Heritage by a 44-14 score.)

This Friday's contest at River City Christian in San Antonio is filled with question marks, according to Shipman. The only thing he knows for sure about the Eagles' opponent is that the team is "relatively young." Assuming that's true, and assuming his starters can get the job done, Shipman foresees his underclassmen seeing a good amount of action.

"It's a good game for us to get some of our younger players some experience" so that they can better learn the system, Shipman said.

The following three games, however, have the Heritage mentor a little more concerned.

Shipman mentioned that while his team has "a good core returning from last year's team, we also have a large group of new guys to bring on board. We do not know how good we really are at this point; nonetheless, we will be tested early when we play Marble Falls, Austin Hill Country, Round Rock and then Austin NYOS all back-to-back."

"We'll find out what we're made of," when September is over, he added.

Marble Falls Faith, Austin Hill Country and Round Rock Christian are all Division I schools, Shipman added, while Austin NYOS ("Not Your Ordinary School") is independent.

Following the tough September line-up, Heritage will open its district schedule when it travels to Town East. Then, after an open date on Oct. 14, the Eagles will continue their league march with home games against Seguin Lifegate on Oct. 21 and Boerne Vanguard on Oct. 28. Heritage will close out its regular season by hosting non-district opponent Cedar Park Summit on Nov. 4.

All Eagle home games will be played on the Fredericksburg Middle School Field, starting at 7 p.m.

The Eagles are returning a talented nucleus of eight players from last year's squad. The high-octane offense, which averaged more than 59 points per game in 2004, will be led by tailback Coleman Akin (who gained 1,028 yards on the ground and scored 27 touchdowns). Also helping out in the rushing department were Robert Ramsay (645 yards on 61 carries, 15 TDs) and Nick Klein (609 yards, also on 61 carries, 14 TDs).

Quarterback Joe Beall completed 44 of 68 passes during last season, compiling 968 yards and 17 TDs, while enduring only one interception.

Joe Neel will anchor the Eagle defensive line from his center position.

On the defensive side of the ball, Akin and Beall will handle the cornerback assignments with Klein holding down the defensive end.

Last year, Heritage outscored its opponents by a per-game margin of more than 49 points (59.4 to 10.3). In addition, the Eagle defense held the other teams to less than 100 yards of offense per contest, recovered a season-total of 18 fumbles and intercepted 23 passes.

But Shipman and his coaching staff of Garret Kunz and Brad Sultemeier would be quick to point out that those statistics are from last year, the undefeated year that brought Heritage a state championship in its first year of TAPPS competition.

"We can be as good as we were last year," Shipman said, adding that it'll all be up to how well the upperclassmen can lead in their roles as mentors and how well the younger players can learn the fundamentals of what the head coach calls "smash-mouth football."

Falcons roll in home opener

Gazette-Enterprise Correspondent
Posted: 08/27/05

GERONIMO — Last year, the Lifegate Falcons traveled to Temple to take on Holy Trinity Catholic High School for opening day.

Giving up the game-winning touchdown on the last play was a reminder that lived in the Falcons’ minds throughout the 2004 season and as they prepared for the 2005 campaign.

So, when the Celtics arrived at Erwin-Lee Field on Friday night, the Lifegate Falcons had a score to settle. And settle it they did, winning 51-6 with a 45-point mercy-rule win midway through the third quarter.

Lifegate head coach John Rabon praised his defense in the win, saying “We’re way ahead of last year on our defensive play. It was a real team effort.”

The Falcons forced seven Holy Trinity turnovers, starting with a fumble on the opening kickoff, which was recovered by senior Dustin Corder. The Lifegate offense took the ball into the end zone in two plays, capped by a 4-yard run from Daniel Hall to put the Falcons up 8-0.

Two plays later, the defense forced another turnover. James Heikkenen recovered a loose ball at the Holy Trinity 32. Six plays later, Aaron Fiedler punched it in from the 3-yard line to up the lead to 14-0.

During the second quarter, the Falcon offense continued to move the ball well. Cruz Sepeda scored early in the quarter on a 19-yard pass play from James Hall. During the next drive, Corder picked off the Celtic pass, the first of five team interceptions and set up another Falcon drive in Celtic territory. Heikkenen caught an 8-yard pass from James Hall to extend the lead to 30-0.

The only Celtic score came on the ensuing kickoff, when John Devlin was took the kick up the left sideline for a 64-yard score, cutting the lead to 30-6 at the 5:37 mark in the second quarter.

After turning the ball over on downs, Holy Trinity set up shop at the Lifegate 35. Freshman Jeremy Meador stole the Celtic shovel pass and lumbered 54 yards to the Holy Trinity 1-yard line. His run on the next play extended the lead to 38-6.

“I had been watching them Holy Trinity do that short pass all night, so I though I could knock it down,” Meador said. “But he threw it right to me, and I headed to the end zone.

Another pass from James Hall to Sepeda just before the half extended the Lifegate lead to 44-6.The Falcon offense sputtered a bit in the second half, giving up two interceptions. Rabon didn’t seem to be too concerned, saying “We wanted to try a few things that we didn’t have much of an opportunity to work on in practice.”

But the Falcon defense came to the rescue again, with Sepeda scoring his third touchdown when he intercepted Celtic quarterback Clint Williams and took the ball 16 yards into the end zone. After Daniel Hall scored on the extra point attempt, the Falcons won the game under the six-man 45-point rule at 5:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Helped by excellent defense and good field position, the Falcons gained 162 yards on offense and limited the Celtics to just 26 yards from scrimmage.

The win was the first opening day win Lifegate’s third-year football program. The Falcons travel to Houston to take on Clear Lake Christian School Saturday, Sept. 3. The Falcons defeated Clear Lake (then known as Grace Christian School) last year in Geronimo

2004 All-District Selections
TAPPS Six-Man Football District 4-Division 2

2004 All-District Teams
* Denotes selected First Team All State
** Denotes selected Second Team All State
*** Denotes selected Honorable Mention All State

First Team Offense:

Tight Ends
Scott Ramsey, Heritage (Senior) *
Kyle Sultemeier, Heritage (Senior) **

Wide Receivers
Trey O’Brien, Town East (Senior) ***
Daniel Hall, Lifegate (Junior)

Center
Joe Neel, Heritage (Junior) *

Quarterback
Joe Beall, Heritage (Junior) **

Running Backs
Coleman Akin, Heritage (Junior) *
Joshua Maher, Town East (Senior) **

Spreadback
Nick Klein, Heritage (Junior) *

Utility Back
Robert Ramsey, Heritage (Freshman)***

Kicker
Joe Beall, Heritage (Junior) **

Special Teams
Coleman Akin, Heritage (Junior) ***

First Team Defense:

Linemen
Andrew Mustard, Heritage (Senior) *
Kyle Sultemeier, Heritage (Senior) **
Greg Hardin, Town East (Freshman) ***

Linebackers
Joshua Maher, Town East (Senior)
James Hall, Lifegate (Sophomore)

Cornerbacks
Coleman Akin, Heritage (Junior) *
Joe Beall, Heritage (Junior) **

Safeties
Scott Ramsey, Heritage (Freshman) *
Trey O’Brien, Town East (Senior) ***

Punter
Cruz Sepeda, Lifegate (Freshman) ***

Coach of the Year
Tim Shipman, Heritage

Second Team Offense:

Linemen
Tim Zachary, Town East
Cruz Sepeda, Lifegate
Will Gray, Town East
Chris White, Town East

Backs/Ends
John Montana, Sonrise
Aaron Fiedler, Lifegate
Aaron Lawson, Town East

Quarterback
James Hall, Lifegate

Special Teams
Michael Sanchez, Lifegate

Second Team Defense:

Linemen
James Heikkenen, Lifegate
Heath Jones, Lifegate
J. D. Kiefer, Lifegate
Brad Theiss, Town East
Joe Neel, Heritage
Nick Klein, Heritage

Linebackers
Chris White, Town East
Brent Davis, Town East

Corner/Safety
Robert Ramsey, Heritage
Kirk Kroeger, Heritage
John Montana, Sonrise
Joseph Trevino, Sonrise

Special Teams
Robert Ramsey, Heritage

Senior All-Star Game Nominees:
Scott Ramsey, Heritage (S/TE/WR)
Kyle Sultemeier, Heritage (TE/WR/DE)
Joshua Maher, Town East (LB/RB)
Andrew Mustard, Heritage (DL)
Trey O’Brien, Town East (WR/DB)
Tim Zachary, Town East (OL)
Michael Sanchez, Lifegate (WR/DB)
John Montana, Sonrise (RB/DB)

Heritage Opens With Win

It wasn’t necessarily a great football game for Heritage, but the effort was more than enough to defeat San Antonio Lutheran, 46-26, in Friday’s six-man season opener for both schools.

Friday’s game, played on the Fredericksburg Middle School field, saw the two-time defending Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II champion Eagles forced to shake off some early-season rust and come back from an 8-0 deficit to capture a victory as the sun’s final rays crept behind the western hills.

The victory marked the 31st consecutive win for the Heritage program, a mark that’s tops among six-man teams in both the United States and Canada.

Heritage continues its home schedule this Friday when Austin NYOS n "Not Your Ordinary School" n comes to town for a 5:30 p.m. contest also set for the FMS field.

"NYOS will be a very tough opponent," said Heritage head coach Tim Shipman, "and in order to win this coming Friday we will have to execute better in all phases of the game."

(Note: The game time has been moved up one-half hour from the previously scheduled 6 p.m.)

The Eagles dominated the offensive statistics against the visiting Mustangs, gaining 279 total yards, with 194 of those coming on the ground.

The running chores were spread around with Luke Andrews topping the charts with 48 yards on nine carries. Robert Ramsay added 41, with Ethan Beall contributing 35, Tyler Turbeville 29 and Cole Dolan 13.

Beall connected on four of his five passes for a total of 85 yards. Ramsay caught three of those aerials for 72 yards, turning them all into touchdowns. Turbeville hauled in the fourth pass for 13 yards.

Ramsay also scored on a 15-yard run late in the third period.

Defensively, the Eagles limited Lutheran to less than 200 offensive yards while recovering three Mustang fumbles.

But the "fumble" bug also bit Heritage as the Eagles let loose of the ball five times, losing possession on three occasions.

Leading rusher for the Mustangs was Bryan Vidales who picked up 74 yards on 11 carries. He completed four of 12 passes for 14, with one of those aerials going for a TD.

Vidales also caught a 39-yard pass from teammate Steven Todd which resulted in another Lutheran tally.

"We had a rough first half this week," said Heritage head coach Tim Shipman. "However, the boys came out in the second half with determination and heart."

While admitting that the game "wasn’t pretty," Shipman added that his players "found a way to win the ball game against an aggressive football team."

"I was pleased that our second and third strings played with such emotion," the mentor added. "We had a couple of players n Trey Eppright and Chad Ham n who scored the first touchdowns of their career. I was very happy for them."

Less than two minutes into the contest, the host Eagles found themselves in an unusual position n trailing their opposition.

After coughing up the ball in prime Mustang real estate early on, Heritage saw Lutheran waste little time in getting on the scoreboard when Vidales scampered 28 yards to his right for a touchdown. Brad Rantz’ two-point place kick put the visitors on top, 8-0.

But the deficit didn’t last long, however, as Beall connected with Ramsay on a 36-yard pass play that resulted in a TD. The successful PAT by Cameron Grey knotted the score at 8-8.

Following another TD reception by Ramsay, on a 17-yard pass from Beall, the two-point conversion kick was low and to the right, leaving the Eagles up by a 14-8 margin.

A quick fumble at the Lutheran 36 by the Mustangs set the stage for Ramsay’s third TD reception of the half, giving the hosts a 22-8 margin midway in the second period.

Heritage saw a golden opportunity to score again turn to dust following a Luke Andrews interception near midfield. The Eagles, however, were unable to convert on fourth down, turning the ball back over to Lutheran.

With only 16 seconds remaining in the first half, Lutheran pulled closer when Vidales reeled in a pass from Todd and made his way downfield for a touchdown, pulling the Mustangs to within eight points, 22-14.

Early in the third, Andrews hauled in another errant Lutheran pass, giving Heritage possession at the Eagles’ 31. From there, it took only three plays for the home team to cross the goal line, this time on a Beall run around the left side on a 15-yard run to paydirt and boosting the Heritage lead to 28-15.

Lightning soon struck again for the Eagles when Ramsay took a pitch 15 yards around the right side for his fourth TD of the game, giving Heritage a 34-14 margin heading into the final period.

With the skies becoming ever darker, the schools exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles’ Chad Hamm scoring from seven yards out, then, later, Trey Eppright returning the ball 54 yards on a kickoff with only 1:17 remaining in the game.

Lutheran managed to rally its forces for another touchdown as time expired, this one coming from Vidales’ 33-yard explosion into the end zone.

Eagles Here Friday

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post
Posted Wednesday, September 27, 2007

In a well-controlled effort, the Heritage Eagles extended their perfect record with a 40-12 win over Round Rock Christian Academy on the road Friday night.

This week they will be at Fredericksburg High School Stadium on Friday to host New Braunfels Christian in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Heritage got on the board with 6:37 left in the first quarter on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Dan Culpepper to Robert Ramsay. The PAT failed.

It wasn’t until past midway in the second quarter before the Eagles found pay dirt again n this time on a five yard rush by Ramsay. But Heritage padded their lead by six just before the half when Luke Andrews ran in from 11 yards out with 17 seconds on the clock.

The team had all the scoring they would need for the victory, but were able to add to their total in the third as Luke Andrews scored on a seven-yard run and Cameron Gray kicked for two points.

Thomas Hierholzer scampered for a 62-yard score with just a minute and a half left in the quarter to bring the score to 32-0.

The final TD for Heritage came on a 36-yard pass from Hierholzer to Gray. Gray also kicked for two.

Round Rock finally got on the board in the fourth quarter with a four-yard touchdown run by Tyler Burge.

Ben Feldman added the final points when he returned a fumble for six with 4:55 left in the game.

Hierholzer was the leading rusher with 127 yards on eight carries for a 15.88 average.

Luke Andrews rolled for 88 yards on 14 carries and Joey Johnson put up 69 yards on six carries.

Robert Ramsay and Cameron Gray led receivers with 39 and 36 yards respectively.

Eagles Warm Up For Win

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post
Posted: Wednesday, Oct 04, 2006 - 03:15:11 pm CDT

After a slow start, the Heritage Eagles football team got hot in the second and third quarters as they defeated New Braunfels Christian Academy under the lights at Fredericksburg High School Stadium 56-22 Friday night.

The Eagles are now 5-0 on the season as they face their first district contest Friday at 5 p.m. against Christian Academy of San Antonio (CASA).

"We have a big month ahead of us that will include district games against CASA this Friday and our rival Seguin Lifegate," Coach Tim Shipman said. "Sandwiched in the middle of those two games will be Arlington St. Albans in a non-district rematch of last year’s Division II state championship. Arlington has since moved up a division to Division I.

The team is currently riding a 35-game winning streak, but Shipman says that "the team knows they must focus and work one week at a time."

It was that workman-like approach the Eagles used in their 56-22 dismantling of New Braunfels.

After a scoreless first quarter, Thomas Hierholzer completed a Heritage drive with a one-yard TD rush in the second quarter with 8:18 on the clock.

Cameron Gray kicked the first of what would be a 7 for 7 night of PATs.

Robert Ramsay caught a 26-yard pass from Gray to put a second TD on the board with 5:55 in the half, and then caught another 18-yarder from Dan Culpepper with 1:43 on the clock that gave the Eagles a 24-0 advantage going into the half.

Hierholzer got the second half going in a hurry with a 68-yard kickoff return and then rushed nine yards for a TD with 5:10 in the third.

New Braunfels got on the board for the first time with 2:54 in the third quarter on a five-yard rush by Kurt Messenger.

Kirk Kroeger answered, catching an eight-yard pass from Culpepper with :50 left in the quarter to put Heritage ahead 48-8.

New Braunfels then added two more scores in the final period on rushes of 12 and 29 yards by Messenger. Cole McKinney, who had kicked successfully after the first NB score, missed on his second try and then nailed the third.

Heritage made the final points on a 15-yard TD run by Chad Ham and Gray finished off a perfect night with a successful kick.

"Overall, we played a very solid football game against a good football team," Shipman said. "Our defense was tested early and rose to the occasion holding New Braunfels scoreless for most of the game."

Eagles Roll Over CASA 48-0

The Eagles just keep rolling along!

Heritage School’s six-man football team picked up its sixth win of the season in as many outings by running past Christian Academy of San Antonio on the road Friday afternoon, 48-0.

Next on the Eagles’ radar screen is an encounter with Arlington St. Alban’s Episcopal School in a rematch of last year’s Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II championship game.

The contest will be played on Frazee Field at Central Texas Christian School in Temple, with kick-off scheduled for 6 p.m.

Heritage 48, CASA 0

(Friday, Oct. 6)

Friday’s game with CASA ended with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter under the 45-point mercy rule when Robert Ramsay caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Beall.

Ramsay scored two TDs earlier in the game, one on a seven-yard run (his only rush of the day) and the other as the result of a 38-yard pass from Thomas Hierholzer.

The Eagles dominated the game from the very beginning, scoring 18 points in the opening stanza, starting with a Hierholzer rushing tally from 19 yards out less than four minutes into the game.

Hierholzer then tacked on another touchdown three minutes later on a four-yard run to pay dirt. He then capped the Eagles’ first quarter scoring by tossing a 38-yard TD aerial to Ramsay.

"I was proud of the boys this week for their hard work in practice and their diligence during the game," said the Eagles’ head coach Tim Shipman.

For the game, the Eagles accumulated 188 yards of total offense (120 on 16 running plays, 68 through the air), while holding CASA to only nine yards (25 rushing, minus 16 passing).

Joey Johnson led Heritage with 76 yards on five carries and a TD, with Hierholzer adding another 49 on seven attempts.

With time running out in the second period, Ramsay powered the ball over the goal line from seven yards out for another score. Cameron Gray tacked on the two-point kick, boosting the Heritage advantage to 26-0 at intermission.

Early in the second half, Johnson picked up his TD with a 19-yard run, then, four minutes later, Ramsay caught a Beall pass on a 30-yard scoring play, putting the Eagles up by a 42-0 margin.

Heritage vs. St. Alban’s

(Thursday, Oct. 12)

As baseball great Yogi Berra once said, "It’s déjà vu all over again."

That’ll be the theme of Thursday evening’s game when the Heritage Eagles take on St. Alban’s.

A year ago, Heritage flew all over the Centurions in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II six-man finals, posting a 44-32 victory to capture their second consecutive state championship.

But while the teams are the same, the line-ups have changed.

Heritage has said "good-bye" to five of the six starters from the 2005 trophy team, but has seemingly been able to pick up the slack, posting a perfect 6-0 record so far this season.

Meanwhile, the Centurions from St. Alban’s, who have gone up from Division II to the bigger-school Division I, return the senior offensive combination of brothers Blaine and Ian Weilman.

"Both of these guys are excellent football players with good speed," Shipman said.

In last year’s championship game, Blaine Weilman hauled in ten passes for a total of 107 yards and two touchdowns against Heritage.

A third component of the Centurions’ offensive threat is receiver Matt Repass, a player who gives St. Alban’s yet another dimension.

"All three of these guys can make a big play at any time," added the Heritage mentor.

While tomorrow’s rematch is obviously a game the Eagles want to win, Shipman looks at the contest with a philosophical slant.

"This week, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Arlington is one of the top teams in the state and it will be a great barometer for us to see where we are. Our guys are extremely excited about challenges ahead," he said.

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post
Posted: Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 05:00:42 pm CDT

It had to happen sooner or later.

After reeling off an incredible 36-game winning streak that spanned parts of four seasons, the Heritage Eagles’ six-man football team finally lost a game.

The Centurions from Arlington St. Alban’s Episcopal School burst the Eagles’ bubble 50-36 in a contest played Thursday night in Temple.

"St. Alban’s is a good football team with a great coach," said Heritage head coach Tim Shipman. "They earned the victory."

Friday’s contest was a rematch of last year’s Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ Division II championship game which was won by Heritage 44-32. That December 2005 win gave the Fredericksburg-based Eagles their second consecutive state title.

Since the past campaign, St. Alban’s has been realigned as a TAPPS Division I school (9th-12th grade student population above 100), while Heritage remained in Division II (under 100 students).

The Eagles (6-1, 1-0) will return to District 4 action Friday when they travel to Seguin for a game against the Lifegate Falcons at 7:30 p.m.

Shipman mentioned that Seguin Lifegate "has a super program with great kids and a great coaching staff."

On the field, the Heritage mentor said he expects Lifegate to run a misdirection option type of offense.

"They have a great spreadback in James Hall and a speedy Cruz Sepeda. Aaron Fiedler is another big play maker. Coach (John) Rabon and his staff will have their boys as prepared as they can be," Shipman said.

Heritage and Lifegate currently share the TAPPS Division II, District 4 lead with identical 1-0 league records.

With Lifegate’s 60-21 victory over San Antonio Towneast last weekend, Friday’s game looms large in determining the district champion.

"A win by Seguin and the district race is sown up for them," Shipman cautioned. "A win by Heritage and we are in the driver’s seat but must not overlook a talented San Antonio Towneast team."

The Eagles travel to Town-east on Nov. 3.

Heritage vs. St. Alban’s

(Friday, Oct. 13)

When St. Alban’s Matt Repass returned an Eagle fumble 76 yards for a touchdown with 6:29 left in the first half, he did more than score six points. He gave his Centurion team its first lead of the game (30-22), a lead it wouldn’t surrender and which proved to be the back-breaker for Heritage as the Eagles lost for the first time since 2003.

Earlier, Heritage held a 16-point advantage, 22-8, when Thomas Hierholzer returned a kick 78 yards to pay dirt late in the opening period.

But from there, things turned sour for the Eagles as St. Alban’s reeled off three touchdowns in a row, the first two coming from Blain Weilman on runs of 51 and one yards, then the third from the Repass interception.

Heritage responded to the adversity with a TD of its own when Robert Ramsay powered his way over the goal line from two yards out. Cameron Gray’s two-point kick, however, was unsuccessful and left the Eagles trailing 30-28.

The Centurions then made several big plays that helped their cause. With less than two minutes before intermission, Repass fired a 46-yard aerial to receiver Chris Hollingworth for a score. Then, early in the third, Weilman slipped through the Heritage defense on his way to a 46-yard TD run.

Weilman led the day for St. Alban’s with 216 yards on the ground in his 22 carries. He also caught a pair of passes for 12 yards. Weilman’s brother, Ian, hauled in four aerials for 32 yards.

Ramsay headed up the Eagles with 124 rushing yards on 10 attempts with Hierholzer adding 98 more on his 12 runs.

Heritage tightened the score when Hierholzer carried the ball over from three yards out with 2:18 left in the third quarter. Gray’s PAT brought the Eagles back to within six points, 42-36.

But Ian Weilman capped the Centurions’ scoring with a five-yard reception of a Repass aerial with 38 seconds remaining in the same period.

Neither team managed to score in the final ten minutes of action.

Ramsay opened the day’s scoring for Heritage when he hauled in an Ethan Beall six-yard pass just four minutes into the game. Gray’s kick put the Eagles up 8-0.

The teams traded touchdowns n a 41-yard run by Blain Weilman, then a 31-yard pass from Beall to Luke Andrews n leaving Heritage up by a 16-8 count.

"We played one of our better games of the season minus five or six big plays," Shipman said. "Arlington (St. Alban’s) capitalized on our mistakes and made very few themselves. They made more big plays than we did and in close games that will change the outcome every time."

Despite the loss, Shipman said he was "proud of our guys for working hard the whole game. They do not know the meaning of quit."

Statistically, the game was close by any standards with St. Alban’s taking the lead in a variety of categories n more first downs (14 to 12), more rushing yards (230 to 227) more passing yards (90 to 88), more total offensive yards (320 to 315).

But a couple of more dubious stats which where "won" by Heritage included more fumbles lost (2 to 0) and giving up more pass interceptions (2 to 1).