Counts scores four as Desert Shields hold off Crusaders

Cheyenne's Kenneth Counts rushed for three first-half touchdowns as the Desert Shields (2-1, 1-1 Northwest) grabbed a 24-0 halftime lead and then held off a late rally to defeat visiting Faith Lutheran (2-2, 1-2) 38-29 on Friday.

Tyler Spight rushed for 224 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 6-yard run to give Cheyenne a 32-7 lead with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

Faith Lutheran answered quickly when Joe Portaro hit Don Pearson on a 32-yard TD pass and cut the lead to 10 on a Portaro 5-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left in the game.

The Crusaders recovered an onside kick, and Portaro connected with Tanner Dupree on a 5-yard TD pass to trim the lead to three with 35 seconds left.

After a penalty, Counts recovered an onside kick and returned it 35 yards for his fourth touchdown of the game.

Counts finished with 100 yards on 15 carries and had scoring runs of 5, 7 and 5 yards.

Portaro completed 22 of 61 passes for 285 yards and two scores and also rushed for two touchdowns.