Facing a vaunted passing attack by Morgan (Utah), Faith Lutheran couldn’t keep up in a 54-36 loss at home on Friday night.
Trailing the entire game, the Crusaders (2-3) eyed a comeback shortly before the end of the third quarter. Senior quarterback Dominick Folino connected with his twin brother Gavin for a 36-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 40-30.
The Trojans — who traveled to Las Vegas from 30 minutes east of Ogden — quickly extinguished that hope.
Early in the fourth quarter, Morgan (4-1) scored on a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Owen Gilson to junior receiver George Thurston. After Trojans senior linebacker Cael Edgington snagged an interception, Gilson and Thurston connected for another score to put the game out of reach, 54-30.
Faith Lutheran scored once more, on a four-yard run by junior running back Dominic Aguilar, but the damage was done.
“I made some bad calls as a coach,” Crusaders coach Jay Staggs said. “I made some untimely late adjustments. And so, I blame myself. And I got a lot of fighters on my team. They love this game. Morgan is an outstanding team.”
Gavin Folino caught eight passes for 158 yards and three touchdowns for Faith Lutheran. Dominic Folino finished 20-for-42 passing with 322 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Junior defensive back Mason Warner made a team-best 7.5 tackles.
The loss caps a four-game stretch of out-of-state opponents where the Crusaders went 2-2 while facing teams from California, Colorado and Utah.
Staggs said these past few weeks helped prepare Faith Lutheran for the tough Southern Nevada teams on their schedule, like Bishop Gorman.
“In order to prepare for a nationally ranked team, we’ve got to be able to find the best available teams that give our boys an opportunity to play at that caliber,” Staggs said. “You play good teams. You don’t always get good results.”
Morgan didn’t waste time taking control. Trojans senior defensive back Jerek McCleary intercepted Folino two minutes into the game, leading to a 51-yard touchdown run by Thurston for a 6-0 lead over the Crusaders.
Morgan scored twice more early in the second quarter on a Gilson touchdown pass and a 35-yard interception return from senior linebacker Cade Spens.
Faith Lutheran got on the board late in the second quarter when the Folino twins connected for a 10-yard touchdown, making it 19-7. The Trojans responded quickly with another Gilson touchdown pass.
Shortly before halftime, Dominick and Gavin Folino scored again on a five-yard pass. The Crusaders ended the first half trailing 26-14.
Gilson finished 22-for-38 passing with 312 yards and six touchdowns — five of which went to Thurston.
