Defense carries No. 6 seed Faith Lutheran to spot in 5A region final — PHOTOS
As the saying goes, the best offense is a strong defense.
No. 6 seed Faith Lutheran proved that with another upset win in the 5A Southern Region playoffs Friday night, defeating host and second-seeded Las Vegas 17-7 to advance to the championship round.
Headlined by pick-sixes from defensive backs Ace Brimmer and Jaden Mason, the Crusaders defense gave Wildcat quarterback Tanner Vibabul trouble all night. Faith Lutheran contained a powerful Las Vegas offense, sacking Vibabul six times.
“We came out here and shut them down,” Mason said. “Going through the troubles of the season, every week we just learned. Our defense really came together. We had struggles all year, and we really picked it up in practice. Our intensity just went up.”
The Crusaders (5-7) will square off against another underdog Friday, facing No. 8 seed Centennial in the Southern Region championship. For the first time this postseason, Faith Lutheran will host a game as the higher seed. The Crusaders toppled No. 3 seed Desert Oasis in the opening round before beating the Wildcats in Friday’s semifinal.
Faith Lutheran coach Jay Staggs preached the mentality of putting the regular season behind them and just focusing on the game ahead.
“I’m thankful for the perfect effort and the relentless attitude that my team showed tonight,” Staggs said. “There’s a lot of naysayers out there. They like to look at box scores and they like to look at things that they consider ‘pretty.’ We do hard things, and sometimes ‘hard’ isn’t very pretty.”
Neither team could find their footing in the early going, trading punts until late in the second quarter.
Faith Lutheran struck first, as Brimmer snagged an errant Vibabul pass near the Las Vegas sideline and ran 28 yards for a TD.
The Crusaders added to their lead midway through the third quarter on another interception, this one by Mason from 39 yards out to make it 14-0.
Late in the third quarter, the Wildcats (10-2) showed some fight. Las Vegas pounced on a fumble by Faith Lutheran running back Justin Robbins at the Wildcats’ 6-yard line. Vibabul willed Las Vegas down the field, culminating in a 7-yard touchdown pass to Rian Jaime.
Vibabul finished 13-for-22 for 148 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. He added 93 yards on the ground.
The Crusaders kept feeding Robbins, who racked up 90 yards and ran like a battering ram through the Wildcats defense in the fourth quarter.
A 22-yard Liam Radke field goal with just under five minutes remaining boosted Faith Lutheran’s lead to 17-7, a deficit Las Vegas couldn’t overcome.
