Faith Lutheran erases 28-point deficit to win 5A region title — PHOTOS

Nothing was going right for Faith Lutheran’s football team in the first half of Friday night’s Class 5A Southern Region title game against Centennial.

Faith Lutheran trailed 28-0 late in the third quarter and it appeared the Crusaders’ magical postseason run was coming to an end.

But it didn’t.

Faith Lutheran erased its four-touchdown deficit and completed an incredible comeback as kicker Liam Radke drilled a 37-yard field goal with 20 seconds left and the No. 6-ranked and host Crusaders stunned No. 8 Centennial 31-28 to win the region championship and advance to the state title game.

“I’m overcome with emotions. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Radke said. “They’re the ones who put us back in this game, so I just had to do what I do everyday in practice. … The boys got my back and I got their back.”

The Crusaders (6-7) will play Northern champion Spanish Springs for the 5A state title on Nov. 25 at Allegiant Stadium at a to-be-determined time. Spanish Springs (12-0) crushed Bishop Mangue 48-7 in the Northern Region title game in Sparks.

“They stayed in it,” first-year Faith Lutheran coach Jay Staggs said. “They represented the name on the front of their chest greater than any team I have ever been a part of in my life. They were all faith tonight. It’s great.

“This is, for a lot of our seniors, their third time being able to get through this game and find a way to win this in a very special way. Very proud of their effort and their relentless attitude for four quarters.”

Faith Lutheran had lost in the last two 5A Division II state title games to Bishop Manogue. Now the Crusaders, who were 2-7 entering a must-win regular-season finale against Foothill, are playing for their third straight state title under Staggs.

“This is who we’ve been the entire year,” Staggs said. “To the outside world, it may not look like that. It may look like we’re on some sort of streak because we count wins and losses. But they’re perfect in the pursuit of doing hard things has hardwired them for situations like this. The training is paying off.”

Crusaders rally

The Crusaders needed a lot of things to go right and were aided by a successful onside kick recovery in the third quarter to set up a score to cut the deficit to 28-14, and a blocked punt in the fourth quarter to get within 28-20.

Radke was set up for a 32-yard try with 26 seconds left but a Faith Lutheran false start moved him back. The junior wasn’t rattled as he had plenty of room to spare on his 37-yard kick.

The Crusaders came up with two stops on the Bulldogs’ ensuing possession and Centennial’s final pass play was stopped well short.

Faith Lutheran quarterback Dominick Folino threw four touchdowns in the second half and finished with 293 passing yards, completing 22 of 29 passes.

“It was a big boost,” Folino said of the contributions of special teams and defense to help Faith Lutheran rally. “It takes the whole team to win a football game, not just the offense. Everybody executed in the second half and that’s what got us to victory.”

Dominick Folino’s 3-yard touchdown to Gavin Folino late in the third quarter put Faith Lutheran on the board and after the Crusaders got an onside kick, Dominick Folino hit Jaden Mason for a 50-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-14 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

Faith Lutheran blocked a Centennial (7-5) punt early in the fourth quarter and Dominick Folino connected with Gavin Folino again in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard pass on fourth-and-goal, and the Crusaders trailed 28-20 after a missed extra-point kick.

The Crusaders forced Centennial into a three-and-out, then Dominick Folino threw his best pass of the game 25 yards to Aipa Kuloloia down the sideline that tied the game 28-28 after Folino’s pass on the 2-point try was successful.

“He’s a big-time player,” Radke said of his quarterback. “He knows what to do. He’s a dog. He’s going to get it done and I have full faith in him.”

Centennial leads early

Sophomore quarterback Nehamiah Dunlap-Myvett showed off his arms and legs in the first half to give Centennial a huge early lead.

First, Centennial got great field position in the first quarter after a blocked punt. Three plays later, Dunlap-Myvett, who went to the sidelines after a hard hit on first down, kept the ball and ran on third down for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead with 2:47 left in the first quarter after a missed point-after attempt.

Dunlap-Myvett showed off his arm in the second quarter, heaving a long pass to Jordan Bostick that turned into an 84-yard touchdown to give Centennial a 12-0 lead with 9:37 left before intermission.

Centennial wide receiver Jayden Thomas helped Dunlap-Myvett get another touchdown on the Bulldogs’ next possession. Dunlap-Myvett lobbed a pass down the sideline, and Thomas made an incredible one-handed catch with a Faith Lutheran defender all over him and fought his way into the end zone to extend the lead to 20-0 after Borgan Church’s 2-point run.

Faith Lutheran had a chance to get the score back after Dunlap-Myvett’s touchdown run. But after initially deciding to kick a field goal, the Crusaders went for it on fourth-and-5 at Centennial’s 16 but Kuloloia dropped a pass in the end zone from Dominick Folino. Centennial led 20-0 at halftime.

Dunlap-Myvett finished with 189 passing yards and 100 rushing yards. Bostick had five catches for 109 yards. Mason finished with six catches for 125 yards for Faith Lutheran.

“A lot of kids at this age, they feel like 28 points, you can’t come back from it,” Staggs said. “They feel like teams are running away with it and they bury their head. There wasn’t a single guy on our sideline that buried his head. It was head up, chest out, trust God.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.