Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

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Basic quarterback Faiman named Home News Player of the Year

Del Sol at Basic

Steve Reyes/Special to the Home News

Basic’s Robby Faiman (7), the Home News Player of the Year, runs the ball against Del Sol. Faiman led the Wolves to the Southeast Division title and the Sunrise Regional semifinals

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Robby Faiman beginnings as Basic's quarterback could not have been more humbling.

As a skinny, 5-foot-4 ninth-grader, barely tall enough to see over the offensive line, Faiman helmed Basic's 2004 freshman team to a 0-10 season.

The tough year left a lasting impression on him.

"I hate to lose," said Faiman, who has since grown to 5-foot-10. "After a season where you lose every game, it just makes you angry. For our seniors, we had been working three and a half years to turn it around."

Faiman, the Home News Player of the Year, was a major force in Basic's resurgence from having one league win last season to going 8-3 and becoming 2008 Southeast Division champions.

The publication has picked an All-Henderson Football Team the past nine years, including selecting a player of the year.

In his first year as a starting varsity quarterback, Faiman threw for 1,385 yards and 19 touchdowns and three interceptions.

He also showed comfort running the ball in Basic's spread offensive, leading the team with 858 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"We knew going into the season that he was special and that with our offense he would be able to do a lot of passing and running," Basic coach Jeff Cahill said. "He always had a great arm and was always tough, but as the season went on he really learned how to run our offense and read the defense."

Cahill said he will remember his quarterback best for his Oct. 24 performance against Del Sol.

Despite losing the game 28-27, Faiman threw for 177 yards and one touchdown while running for another 53 yards.

He also withstood a lot of punishment from the opposing defense, enough that Del Sol coach Preston Goroff shook Faiman's hand in admiration after the game.

"He played tough as nails," Goroff said. "The big thing about Basic was their offense this year. They were able to move the chains and Robby was a big part of that."

Faiman drove Basic down the field twice in the fourth quarter to set up game-winning field goals, however Del Sol blocked both.

"He really took a lot of hits, but he never complained and he earned a lot of respect that day," said Cahill, the Sunrise Region's coach of the year.

Faiman said he learned how to be resilient on the football field from his stepfather, former Basic coach Cliff Frazier.

"When you become quarterback, a lot of people say you don't want to get hit, but that's not always the case," Faiman said. "Coach Frazier taught me how to be tough."

Faiman was never apprehensive being the focus of the Wolves' offense, and attributes his success to having fun throughout the year.

Basic beat Valley 34-21 in the Sunrise Regional quarterfinals but lost 42-27 to Del Sol in the regional semifinals.

For Faiman, the high point of the season was Basic's 33-28 win against Green Valley in the Henderson Bowl on Oct. 30 to seal its first league title since 1999.

"Everything you could ask for in a season was in that game," he said.

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].

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