The Liberty Patriots are taking a road trip to take on the Faith Lutheran Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Liberty has five straight victories, Faith Lutheran has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Liberty is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Foothill, who was ranked 18th at the time (Liberty was ranked third). The Patriots blew past the Falcons 50-30 on Friday. The Patriots might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won three matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Liberty's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Ezra Sanelivi, who rushed for 78 yards and a pair of scores, and Kellen Iwamuro, who picked up 105 receiving yards and one touchdown. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Kaden Cadang, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 16 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Aiden Webster, who ran a punt back for a touchdown. Another bright spot was a kickoff return touchdown from Cadang.
Aiden Webster
| 09/26/25 @ Foothill | 2 |
| 09/19/25 vs Farrington | 1 |
| 09/12/25 vs Desert Pines | 1 |
Another reason for the win was Liberty's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jonathan Ioane and Webster, who racked up five sacks between them. Webster is on a roll when it comes to sacks, as he's now posted at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Maximus Paogofie was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making five total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Faith Lutheran didn't have quite enough to beat Desert Oasis on Friday and fell 30-27. While the Crusaders had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Diamondbacks 7-0.
Liberty will need to focus on slowing down Justin Robbins, one of several Faith Lutheran players who made an impact when they last played. He rushed for 104 yards and two TDs on only 13 carries. Robbins really tore up the turf during one magnificent 73-yard run. Gavin Folino was another key player, gaining 105 total yards and a touchdown.
Faith Lutheran's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Liberty, their win bumped their record up to 5-1.
Everything came up roses for Liberty against Faith Lutheran when the teams last played back in September of 2022, as the squad secured a 41-6 victory. In that game, the Patriots amassed a halftime lead of 35-3, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
