Things were put into perspective for the Faith Lutheran football team Friday night in the Crusaders’ game at Bakersfield Christian in California.
Nearly 15 minutes away from the site Faith Lutheran’s back-and-forth battle with Bakersfield Christian, a shooting occurred at Independence High School during a different prep football game.
Reports from Bakersfield said a 17-year-old died from the shooting. Faith Lutheran coach Jay Staggs said the schools learned about the incident just before halftime. That led to both teams taking a moment of silence at halftime and coming together for a group prayer at midfield.
“It was a lot. There was a lot going on,” Staggs said. “We got together and prayed for everybody that was at that other game.
“For those high school kids to have to bounce back from that — because we got that information in the second quarter and for Bakersfield Christian, that’s tough because they have a lot of friends that all go to that school — there were some heavy hearts.”
On the field, Faith Lutheran came up with a stop on a Bakersfield Christian 2-point conversion attempt and recovered an onside kick to hold on for a 28-27 road victory over the Eagles, who are coached by Darren Carr, the brother of former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
“The matchup with Bakersfield Christian, every year I’ve been involved in it, it’s always a one-score game,” said Staggs, whose team lost last Saturday to Mater East 43-35. “It comes down to a few key plays and nothing changed this year. The difference from last week to this is we played complementary football.”
With the game tied at 21, Ace Brimmer came up with an interception for Faith Lutheran and returned it to the 45-yard line. On the next play, Crusaders quarterback Dominick Folino connected with Ryan Rowan for the go-ahead touchdown.
Faith Lutheran’s defense appeared to have sealed the game with a fourth-down stop with 27 seconds left, but the Crusaders were called for a personal foul after Staggs said a Crusaders player whose helmet was thrown off and continued playing.
Bakersfield got a fresh set of downs and scored on third down and elected to go for a 2-point conversion but was stopped. Faith Lutheran recovered the onside kick and went into victory formation.
Staggs praised Folino, Brimmer and linebacker Ky-Mani Blas-Barlow for helping the Crusaders navigate a back-and-forth game. The coach also credited his staff helping instill the life lessons that allowed the team to support its opponent.
“We want to love each other,” Staggs said. “We love the game of football, and it was a moment for us to be able to come together with another football family.”
Coronado crushes California school
Coronado football coach Shawn Dupris said his players had a “bad taste in their mouth” after their season opener last week against Centennial was called at halftime with the Cougars trailing 7-0.
The Cougars took out their frustration against Lancaster (California).
Coronado forced six turnovers, four fumbles and two interceptions, and senior running back Matthias Rantissi rushed for two touchdowns as the Cougars rolled to a 42-16 home win over Lancaster on Friday.
“We could have been easily up (against Centennial) going into halftime and then to get the game called — they were ready at halftime,” Dupris said. “They were excited to get back out there and that left a bad taste in their mouth.
“They were fired up to play a California team. It’s the first California win since I’ve been at Coronado, so it’s big deal. Pretty excited about it.”
It was a coming out party for Rantissi, who broke his ankle on a fair catch in Coronado’s season opener last year to Losee and missed the Centennial game due to a bone bruise. Rantissi rushed for over 100 yards.
“The kid’s a baller,” Dupris said. “He can play. He’s a dude. To see him be able to get back in there tonight and run … he was game changer for sure tonight.”
Sophomore Jasten Theno stepped up to play quarterback for Coronado on Friday after Gavin Maalouf went out with a knee injury. Dupris said the Centennial game led to a great week of practice for Coronado.
“We had the three best practices that we’ve had in a long time this week,” Dupris said. “They carried that over to Friday. We’re playing a lot of sophomores and they grew up immensely in a week. … It was great effort.”
First wins
A handful of coaches around Southern Nevada enjoyed their first victories as head coaches of their new schools.
Shadow Ridge, under new coach Ethan Lewis, rolled to a 41-7 victory over Durango. Lewis took over after longtime coach Travis Foster stepped down last season.
“Anytime you’re following a guy who in my opinion is a (Southern Nevada Football Coaches Association) hall of famer, there’s obviously the added pressure of trying to keep the tradition of Shadow Ridge alive,” Lewis said. “Me having been there (since 2016), I have a positive relationship with a lot of the kids and that’s helped with the transition.”
Other coaches who recorded their first wins as head coaches of their teams include: Rob Robles (Desert Pines, 27-26 over Las Vegas High), Brandon Harton (Green Valley, 43-8 over Canyon Springs), Zachary Blanchard (Del Sol, 45-6 over Western) and Eric Shufford (SLAM! Nevada, 52-48 over Virgin Valley).
Princeton Leyva rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown for Shadow Ridge, who also got rushing scores from Isaiah Ruiz, Xavion Cross, Isaiah Jones and Mu Gilliard. The Mustangs rushed for 315 yards.
The team has spread it out more on offense compared to the triple-option system it has run in the past, but Lewis said running the ball will still be a part of Shadow Ridge’s identity.
“Our kids expect to be competitive,” Lewis said. “They look forward to the competition. They don’t back down to anybody. We’re a blue collar group and it’s exciting to see where we’re headed.”
Other notable performances
Foothill rules Highway: Foothill quarterback Ryder Dobbs completed 13 of 18 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Falcons to a 42-8 win over Henderson rival Basic in the “Battle for Boulder Highway.” Foothill wide receiver Nixon Gasperosky had four catches for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Clark wins up North: Clark made the nearly seven-hour drive up to Northern Nevada to take on Douglas and will return with a victory. The Chargers won a back-and-forth game 39-35 over Douglas. According to the Nevada Appeal, Clark running back Felix Romero rushed for four touchdowns and caught a pass, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:27 left.
Sloan Canyon wins rematch: The rematch of last year’s 4A state title game did not disappoint, and Saturday at UNR, Sloan Canyon came out on top. Kalepo Mose scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to lift Sloan Canyon to a 28-21 win over McQueen. Sloan Canyon lost to McQueen 27-20 last year in Allegiant Stadium for the title in what was Sloan Canyon’s only loss in 2025.
Up next
The top game next week involving a local team takes place in Florida on Saturday when Bishop Gorman, ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, faces Columbus (Florida) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The Gaels defeated St. John Bosco 38-28 on Friday and will likely be ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps on Monday.
In local competition, Friday’s top game includes 2-0 Palo Verde hosting Desert Oasis (1-0) at 6 p.m. Friday. Spring Valley (1-0) and Bonanza (0-1) face off at 6 p.m. Friday in the annual “Banner Game” at Bonanza. Foothill heads up to Northern Nevada to face defending 5A state champion Spanish Springs at 7 p.m. in Sparks.
Several of the area’s top teams continue to face top out-of-state teams on Friday: Liberty hosts Tafuna (American Samoa), Centennial hosts Burbank (California), Shadow Ridge plays at Simi Valley (California) and Mater East hosts Victor Valley (California). All games are at 7 p.m.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Southern Nevada high school football scores and schedule
Week 2 scores
Friday
Bishop Gorman 38, St. John Bosco (California) 28
Faith Lutheran 28, Bakersfield Christian (California) 27
Carlsbad (California) 24, Arbor View 17
Cathedral Catholic (California) 52, Centennial 49
Desert Pines 27, Las Vegas High 26
Coronado 42, Lancaster (California) 16
Foothill 42, Basic 8
Palo Verde 28, Legacy 26
Desert Oasis 36, Sierra Vista 28
Shadow Ridge 41, Durango 7
Green Valley 43, Canyon Springs 8
Tafuna (American Samoa) 38, Mojave 0
Clark 39, Douglas 35
SLAM! Nevada 52, Virgin Valley 48
Barstow (California) 19, Losee 16
Sunrise Mountain 40, Bonanza 20
Del Sol 45, Western 8
Valley 40, Cimarron-Memorial 33
Cheyenne 26, Chaparral 24
Hurricane (Utah) 49, Moapa Valley 20
Galena 47, Pahrump Valley 7
CIVICA Academy 42, Army-Navy Academy (California) 0
Desert Star (Arizona) 62, Cadence 18
Parker (Arizona) 45, Needles 8
Lincoln County 37, West Wendover 28
Pahranagat Valley 44, Beatty 0
Battle Mountain 54, White Pine 13
Tonopah 70, Virginia City 0
Water Canyon (Utah) 50, Beaver Dam 34
Saturday
Sloan Canyon 28, McQueen 21
Week 3 schedule
All games at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Friday
Desert Oasis at Palo Verde, 6 p.m.
Muir (California) at Sloan Canyon, 6 p.m.
Las Vegas High at Mountain View (Arizona), 6 p.m.
Spring Valley at Bonanza, 6 p.m.
Cimarron-Memorial at Silverado, 6 p.m.
Pahrump Valley at Durango, 6 p.m.
Valley at Rancho, 6 p.m.
Western at Chaparral, 6 p.m.
Tafuna (American Samoa) at Liberty
Canyon Springs at Coronado
Burbank (California) at Centennial
Foothill at Spanish Springs
Faith Lutheran at Valor Christian (Colorado)
Desert Pines at Cheyenne
Shadow Ridge at Simi Valley (California)
Reed at Legacy
Sierra Vista at Basic
Victor Valley (California) at Mater East
Mojave at Moapa Valley
Valley View (California) vs. SLAM! Nevada at Bishop Gorman
Clark at Virgin Valley
Douglas at Losee
Eldorado at Boulder City
CIVICA Academy at Shadow Ridge (Arizona)
GV Christian at The Meadows
Lincoln County at Cadence
American Leadership Academy at White Pine
Pahranagat Valley at Eureka
Spring Mountain at Laughlin
Sandy Valley at Beaver Dam
Pyramid Lake at Indian Springs
Round Mountain at Tonopah
Saturday
Bishop Gorman at Columbus (Florida), 11 a.m.
Monument Valley (Arizona) vs. Needles, noon at Northern Arizona University
Providence (Utah) at Lake Mead Academy
