2/11/2009
Faine garners national honor
By Cort Reynolds
Ada Herald Writer
Faine knew he had been nominated for the award by his coach Mike Fell, but admitted being surprised he had actually won.
"Yes I was surprised, it was exciting; I wasn't really expecting it," he said. "Coach Fell took me out of class a few weeks ago and told me I had won."
The official winners were recognized in the USA Today newspaper last week.
Central to receiving the honor are several criteria. First, a player and his team must have a very good season. Nominees have to write an essay on what they to do to become good teammates and to come through in the clutch. The coach must then fill out a few pages of paperwork for the nomination.
Faine also had to answer questions about leading the team, and what he feels when his team is in the "red zone", the scoring area from the opposing 20-yard line to the end zone.
"I think Mitchell, beginning from the first day of football camp in summer, emerged as our team leader," said Fell. "No one in the state of Ohio had a better statistical season. To lead his team to a 12-1 record shows what kind of year he had.
"In the red zone, he was an excellent finisher," Fell continued. "He threw for 37 touchdowns and ran for 16. Accounting for 53 TDs is definitely finishing in the red zone."
Faine compiled highly impressive numbers this past season. He completed 70.3 percent of his passes (289-411) and threw for 3,838 yards. He also showed his running and scrambling skills off by netting 648 rushing yards and a 4.2 yards per carry average. At nearly 6-4 and 200 pounds, he has the size to power over some tacklers and the agility to make others miss. He led the Ada offense to 41 points per game.
