The Faith Lutheran Crusaders will take on the Liberty Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Faith Lutheran has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the game with three straight losses, while Liberty will come in with five straight victories.
Faith Lutheran is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Nevada's top teams: Desert Oasis, who was ranked 14th at the time (Faith Lutheran was ranked 20th). The Crusaders fell just short of the Diamondbacks by a score of 30-27 on Friday. While the Crusaders had to settle for second, they closed the game well in the third quarter, where they outscored the Diamondbacks 7-0.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Justin Robbins, who rushed for 104 yards and two scores on only 13 carries. His longest rush was for an incredible 73 yards. Gavin Folino was another key player, gaining 105 total yards and a touchdown.
Even if they lost, Faith Lutheran's defense still kept up the pressure with four sacks. Desert Oasis' QB won't forget Joel Sandoval anytime soon given he sacked him twice. The game marked Sandoval's first with multiple sacks this season. Connor Gries was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making 11 total tackles.
Meanwhile, Liberty got the win against Foothill on Friday by a conclusive 50-30. Considering the Patriots have won three matchups by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Faith Lutheran better focus on containing Ezra Sanelivi and Kellen Iwamuro as the pair were huge in Liberty's win. Sanelivi rushed for 78 yards and a pair of TDs, while Iwamuro 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 played a big role in the game for Liberty, adding 16 points to the final score. 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.
Liberty's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Faith Lutheran, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Faith Lutheran was dealt a bruising 41-6 loss at the hands of Liberty in their previous meeting back in September of 2022. That contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point the Crusaders were down 35-3.
