Football Preview: Faith Lutheran Crusaders vs. Bishop Manogue Miners
On Saturday Faith Lutheran will have to hit the road after three straight games at home. They will face off against the Bishop Manogue Miners at 1:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Faith Lutheran is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They won a game that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by Shadow Ridge 35-34. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Crusaders, who until this match were averaging 12.64 points allowed.
Alexander Rogers was his usual excellent self, throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns while completing 73.1% of his passes, and also rushing for 63 yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Rouselle Shepard was Rogers' top target, picking up 144 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Faith Lutheran wouldn't let Shadow Ridge keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Cole Keith, Matthew Mason, and Patrick Duffy picked up one apiece. Keith is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last 22 games he's played dating back to last season. Ricky Manning was another major factor on D, making 14 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Bishop Manogue entered their tilt with Reed on Friday with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They walked away with a 35-28 victory over the Raiders.
Bishop Manogue relied on the efforts of Brandon Mann, who rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown while picking up 8.5 yards per carry, and Pele Masina, who rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Masina showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 59 yards.
Bishop Manogue was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 384 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Bishop Manogue pushed their record up to 9-3 with the win, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 41.5 points per game. As for Faith Lutheran, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
Things could have been worse for Faith Lutheran, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 40-21 loss to Bishop Manogue when the teams last played back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Faith Lutheran, Ben Scolari (who picked up 162 receiving yards and three touchdowns) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
