FWCD varsity football faced off against Houston Christian High School at home on Friday, October 17, and while the team likes to treat every opponent the same, in the end, this was more than a normal matchup. With a win, the Falcons would clinch a spot in the SPC championship.
In addition to the championship being on the line, this was a revenge game for the Falcons. In the previous 2024 season, the game was played in Houston, where the Mustangs beat the Falcons 28-16. Houston Christian would go on to win the SPC championship 21-12 over Trinity Valley School, while the Falcons would miss out on a championship spot.
One play from that 2024 matchup still lived clearly in the head of every FWCD player. Last year, with 38 seconds left on the clock, already up 28-16, Houston Christian did not line up in a kneel formation to run out the clock. They instead ran a deep pass. The pass was caught and would’ve been taken for a touchdown if not for a great chasedown effort by Fulton Weaver ’26, who tackled the ball carrier at the 1-yard line. The clock ticked down to zero, with Houston Christian one yard short of running up the score.
A year later, the bitterness of that attempt to run up the score was still strong. The team made sure to rewatch that clip several times before the game as a reminder.
Fueled by that grudge, the Falcons started hot, playing defense first and forcing Houston Christian to punt. Now with the ball, quarterback Cooper Paul ’27 led a 14-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Canaan Factor ’26. The Falcons successfully converted a 2-point attempt, putting them up 8-0.
Houston Christian attempted to respond quickly, building up a deep drive and getting to the 24-yard line before falling to 4th & 1. They ran the ball up the middle, where Logan Francis ’28 forced a fumble that was recovered by Factor. Building off of that momentum as the 2nd quarter began, the Falcons drove down the field again, getting in the end zone on a 1-yard Fox Burton ’26 run. The extra point by kicker Luke Vincent ’26 put the Falcons up 15-0.
Houston Christian needed to change the momentum and they succeeded, driving down the field in only a few plays. They eventually found a hole in the Falcon run defense, breaking off a 23-yard run and taking it in the end zone. The extra point was good, bringing the score to 15-7.
With Houston Christian stealing the momentum, the Falcons needed a big play. On the kickoff, Will Bloemendal ’27 stepped up. The kickoff team faked a return to the left, with Bloemendal instead taking it to the right where he found nothing but green grass. Bloemendal took it all the way for a 92-yard kick return touchdown, and the successful extra point by Vincent put the Falcons up 22-7.
Having only a few minutes of rest, the Mustangs offense took the field after the kick return touchdown (TD), once again needing to gain some momentum. With little time left in the first half, the Mustangs took to the air; driving down the field, and at one point passing the ball seven straight times, they got into the endzone on a 12-yard pass. The score was now 22-14, and the Falcons took a knee to send the game to halftime.
The Falcons got the ball to start the second half and were quick to strike with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Bloemendal on just the third play of the drive. This put the Falcons up 29-14.
The Mustangs, needing a score so the game didn’t get out of hand, drove down the field and managed to get to the 8-yard line before being met with a 4th & 3. They once again ran it up the middle, where Weaver jumped the ball carrier and tripped him up for a turnover on downs. This was the second time Houston Christian made it into FWCD territory and came up empty handed.
Now with the opportunity to put the game almost certainly out of reach for Houston Christian, the Falcons began to drive down the field. They mounted a 13-play, 89-yard drive before stalling out at Houston Christian’s 4-yard line. Vincent hit the 19-yard field goal right down the middle with 8 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, which put the Falcons up 32-14.
While the Falcons hadn’t come away with a touchdown, this made it a three-score game and drained much time off the clock, leaving little chance for a Mustang comeback. The Mustangs tried to fight back out of the corner, but on a 4th & 14, Houston Christian’s quarterback tried to scramble; a big hit by Weaver stopped him short of the sticks. After FWCD punted the ball back, the Mustangs got a second attempt. This time they would score on a 50-yard touchdown pass, but the extra point was blocked by Burton, keeping the score to 32-20.
The Falcons, now with the ball, tried to ice the game by running out the clock. However, they stalled and had to punt it back to the Mustangs. They found holes in the Falcons’ pass coverage for 25 and 18 yard passes, getting them down to the Falcons’ 10-yard line. Once there, the Mustang quarterback took the snap and immediately faced pressure, rolling left. The ball was thrown up to the end zone, and it was intercepted by Weaver, icing the game.
From there, the Falcons drained the clock to the two minute warning. They then kneeled the ball three times to let the clock expire, coming away with a 32-20 win.
“The way I was taught, kneeling the ball is the classy way to do things,” FWCD head coach Keith Burns said. “That formation, victory formation, stings so much more than any other play ever would.”
After the clock had expired and hands had been shaken with the Mustangs, the Falcons began to celebrate. They had now locked in a position in the SPC Championship, and it would be their first appearance in the big game since Burns’ hiring in 2021. Cries of “we’re headed to the ‘ship!” rang out as many fans took the field to celebrate with the team. Burns donned a t-shirt that read, “We may not have it all together, but together we can have it all.”
While the spot in the championship was locked in, the team is dedicating on not losing focus.
“We didn’t come this far just to come this far,” Burns said. The Falcons still have two more games on their schedule before the championship; the first, a home game versus Oakridge (which would result in no contest due to lightning delays), and the second, an away game at St. Andrew’s.
The Falcons won’t just play Oakridge this season in that one no-contest game, however; Oakridge has also already locked in a spot in the championship, meaning the Falcons and Owls will face off once again in the championship.
With that championship game locked in, Burns put the Falcons’ situation best in his postgame speech after a 41-0 win over Cistercian. On a whiteboard, Burns drew a quick illustration before asking his players what he had just drawn.
There were many shouts of “a car,” and one shout of “a truck.”
“That’s right, it’s a car,” Burns said. “But it’s also our conference. And you guys are in the driver’s seat.” The Falcons just have to keep their foot on the gas.
