Grapevine Faith Christian School (GFCS) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some countr ...

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States.

Athletics

GFCS participates as a member of

TAPPS The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas. It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas. Foun ...

. Their Athletic teams are nicknamed The Lions. In December 2016, the varsity Lions football team claimed the state TAPPS title.

One Heart Bowl

GFCS previously maintained a "rivalry" with the

Gainesville State School The Gainesville State School is a juvenile correctional facility of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in unincorporated Cooke County, Texas, near Gainesville. The fenced, maximum security state school is located on a tract east of Gainesvill ...

, a

Texas Juvenile Justice Department The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) is a state agency in Texas, headquartered in the Braker H Complex in Austin. It was created on December 1, 2011, replacing the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. Histor ...

maximum-security juvenile detention facility. (The "rivalry" was, from a competition standpoint, one-sided as FCS has won all of the matchups.) The rivalry began when GFCS and Gainesville State were placed in the same district in 2008 for athletic competition. After learning about how the Gainesville State program operated (the team plays all its games on the road, has no fan base outside of its coaches and the guards assigned to escort the team each week, and the roster – where players are identified only by their first name and first initial of their last name – is subject to significant turnover due to players being released from custody or removed from the team for disciplinary action), GFCS head football coach/athletic director Kris Hogan sent an unusual request to the team's fans – he asked them to form a spirit line and cheer for the Gainesville State players in their upcoming game. The game made national headlines. The teams played again in district competition in 2009 (now renamed "One Heart Bowl"); the game featured (then) Cowboys coach

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also serve ...

in attendance. Gainesville State and GFCS were moved into different districts in 2010; however, GFCS and Gainesville State continued the annual football game. until Gainesville State elected to play six-man football instead.

Notable Graduates

Seth G. A. Gertz-Billingsley, class of 2017. Billingsley attended university in Arkansas before working as an environmental lobbyist and attending

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. Prior to starting law school, Gertz-Billingsley worked as an environmental lobbyist in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

where he led efforts to increase green infrastructure in the state. {{cite web , url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-To-help-Texas-wildlife-cross-roads-16575699.php

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{Portal, Christianity, Schools
Faith Christian School
Official site {{TAPPS 5A {{authority control Christian schools in Texas Private high schools in Texas High schools in Tarrant County, Texas {{Texas-school-stub