Portaro, Crusaders rally for win

Joe Portaro passed for 296 yards and three touchdowns, including the 22-yard game-winner to Brett Lubbe with 23 seconds to play as Faith Lutheran rallied for a 26-23 win over visiting Fountain Valley (Calif.) on Friday.

Brad Pearson forced a fumble by Fountain Valley’s Montana Merhoff and Lubbe recovered at the Barons' 46-yard line with 1:14 to play.

Portaro threw a 14-yard pass to Lubbe to convert on fourth-and-10. Four plays later, Porataro scrambled and found Lubbe over the middle for the winning score. It was Portaro’s 51st pass attempt and 24th completion.

Fountain Valley took a 23-19 lead early in the fourth quarter, exploiting three interceptions and five Faith Lutheran penalties in the second half.

The Barons scored on quarterback Josiah Fernandez’s 1-yard keeper and a 6-yard TD run by Merhoff, who had 161 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

The Crusaders led at halftime 12-10 and took a 19-10 lead with 6:54 left in the third quarter on a 10-yard TD pass from Portaro, whose pass was tipped and caught by an unintended-receiver, Tanner Dupree, while on his back in the end zone.

Justin Dannan raced for a 79-yard TD run on Faith Lutheran’s first offensive play from scrimmage.

Lubbe finished with nine catches for 110 yards and Don Pearson caught eight for 117 yards and a touchdown.