Who’s the new guy with the ’stache? Christian Brothers’ record-setting quarterback

Spencer Webb doesn’t just catch touchdowns and knock people around on a football field. He can pen quite an article.

The nationally recruited Christian Brothers High School tight end crafted a piece at the beginning of the academic year for the campus paper, the CB Talon, wondering through words about this mysterious new fellow on campus, “with the creepy mustache.”

Ah, it was Gunnor Faulk, he of the thick shock of hair, the wispy ’stache and considerable quarterback skills. Webb raved about Faulk in the story, never mind the blatant conflict of interest of one star writing about another in the same uniform colors.

The Oregon-bound Webb is something of an authority on Faulk, whom he has known for 11 years. Their camaraderie has helped make them as potent of a pass-catch combination as you can find in Northern California.

After rolling Benicia 59-0 on Friday in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III opener at Hughes Stadium, Faulk has now found Webb for 21 touchdowns. Faulk passed for 279 yards and five touchdowns against Benicia.

And that mustache? It was shaved shortly after the story ran, though the plan was to grow it out until the team went down in defeat. Christian Brothers lost its first two contests before peeling off a nine-game winning streak, and here comes that mustache again.

“Now it’s a cool mustache,” Webb said Friday, laughing. “Gunnor’s a great player. Sometimes, when we’re all tired in a game, we look to him and think, ‘All right, G, time to make a play.’ ”

“G” has made a lot of plays.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior has devastated defenses with his dual-threat abilities. He has passed for 2,251 yards and 43 touchdowns, and he has rushed for 618 yards and five scores.

Of all the star quarterbacks to march through Christian Brothers, Faulk is the most prolific, bettering Braeden Bourke’s school mark of 27 touchdown passes from 2015 by a mile. Other Falcons signal callers of note since 1970 include Dan Carmazzi, Jeff Tisdel, Mike Quinn, Kevin McKechnie, Chris Guillen and Tyler Vander Waal.

Most of those players competed for four years at Christian Brothers. Faulk has logged just his senior season at the school, arriving last winter by way of Georgia. He has traveled the country since he was old enough to crawl as a son to a military father, the youngest of four to parents Kim and Al.

“Moved from California to Georgia when I was 1, then back to California for four years, then Alaska, then Winters, then to Georgia and then back here,” Faulk said. “Moving back here last year took a lot of weight off my shoulders. I’m back with family. I love my teammates here and the school. It’s a restart button. It’s hard to move, but I’m glad to be here.”

Faulk led Pace Academy of Atlanta to the Class 2A state championship as a sophomore, passing for 1,715 yards and 17 touchdowns. His grandfather, Bert Caldwell, was a football star at Dixon High, and Caldwell’s unbeaten Rams team of 1963 will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame this month.

Faulk aspires to play in college and to study engineering or architecture. He is a 3.7 student.

“Definitely want to keep playing,” Faulk said.

Christian Brothers coach Tyler Almond said there is room in the college game for Faulk, and Almond speaks with a voice of authority. He was on the Sacramento State coaching staff for seven seasons before accepting this job last offseason.

Almond said Faulk reminds him of Garrett Safron, who set Sac State career marks for yards and touchdown passes, playing his final season in 2014. Safron dazzled at 6-2 and 190 pounds.

“No doubt in my mind Gunnor can play at the next level,” Almond said. “There’s definitely a home for him out there somewhere. He can play in the Big Sky Conference. He’s a lot like Garrett in terms of skill set, and Gunnor’s got the best touch of a football coming out of his hands as I’ve seen in a long time.

“He’s a remarkable player, very polished. He’s mentally already playing at a college level, and he’s worked his tail off to get this far.”

Faulk became more than just the new dude with the mustache last winter, making an immediate impact on Kristen McCarthy, the school’s director of admissions and communications.

“Gunnor is a true gentleman,” McCarthy said. “I know he’s a fantastic football player and a leader on the team, but to me, he’s the young man who on his first day at CB insisted that he push a cart I had loaded up with supplies I needed for a meeting.

“Since then, I’ve come to know him as someone who is really bright, inquisitive, funny and kind. I’m so glad he’s here and part of our community.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Who’s the new guy with the ’stache? Christian Brothers’ record-setting quarterback."