Second shot at 3A crusade

Faith Lutheran is better prepared to face Southern League

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Faith Lutheran's debut football season at the Class 3A level in 2004 could hardly be characterized as a success, but with a season under its belt and a somewhat kinder schedule on tap, coach Jake Kothe and the Crusaders are now primed and ready for the 2005 season.

Faith Lutheran made the jump to 3A last year -- it was the first time the city of Las Vegas has had a 3A team since the 4A class was created in 1996 -- and finished 4-5 overall but debuted in the Southern League with a dismal 0-4 mark.

"We were disappointed in our record last year," Kothe said. "But one thing we weren't disappointed with was the effort put forth by all those young men on our team."

The Crusaders lost some talented players to graduation in the likes of John Nixon, Rico Portaro, Josh Washington, Scott Wiggins and starting quarterback Cameron Done.

Nixon is now attending Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he plans on continuing his career on the gridiron with the Bearcats, while Portaro is trying to play for California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

But the Crusaders, who had a total of 55 players try out for football at both levels of the school, return a number of quality players who should help make for a better season at the Summerlin campus and possibly a playoff berth in the tough league.

"We're pretty thin this season," said Kothe. "I was talking to the Boulder City coach at our summer camp at Southern Utah (University) and he said they had over 100 come out. The problem with us is that we start practicing three weeks before school starts up."

Fighting for the starting quarterback position at Faith Lutheran are seniors Brandon Lake and Michael Portaro -- the younger brother of Rico -- and sophomore Conner Maloney.

"I know they all want the job," Kothe said.

Lake saw some time at the position last season and threw for 320 yards as Done's backup, but Kothe said Portaro has the strongest arm of the three.

Probably the most talented returning skill position player for Faith Lutheran is senior wide receiver/defensive back Jarid Rollins.

The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Rollins registered 323 receiving yards in 2004 and was named first-team all-Southern League at safety.

"We will probably move him into the slot and try to develop a short passing game around him," Kothe said.

The best lineman returning for the Crusaders is senior Nadim Ahmed (5-11, 165).

Ahmed led the team in tackles last season with 63 and was named to the Southern League's honorable mention team on defense. He will be counted on heavily this season with the departure of so many talented teammates.

"He's very important to us," Kothe said. "He led our team in tackles last season and is a very hard worker."

One teammate who went elsewhere was senior Drew West, an honorable mention selection at defensive line in the Southern League who transferred to Palo Verde High School, last year's 4A state champions, over the summer.

A player who had impressed Kothe during the first practices this summer was senior Luke Hansen (6-1, 160).

"Luke Hansen has shown some really good leadership qualities in practice," Kothe said.

Despite the fairly tough year in Kothe's eyes, Faith Lutheran outscored its opponents 234-180, or an average of 26-20 points per game.

This year's seven-game regular season schedule should be a bit easier than last year's nine-game schedule was, but like last season, Faith Lutheran plays its first three games on the road.

The season opener was Aug. 26 at Hawthorne against the 2A Northern League's Mineral County (3-5 last season). Results were unavailable at press time.

After an off-week this weekend, the Crusaders will head north and across the state line to bang heads with the 3A Northern League's North Tahoe, Calif., (2-6) on Sept. 10 in another very winnable early game.

After another idle weekend, Southern League divisional play begins Sept. 23 at Mesquite when Faith Lutheran travels to face Virgin Valley (8-3 overall, 2-2) in what will prove to be an extremely important early contest for Kothe's squad.

Last season in Summerlin, the Vikings edged Faith Lutheran, 13-12, dashing any hopes of a playoff shot for the Crusaders.

The serious portion of Faith Lutheran's schedule kicks in the next three weeks when it hosts league champions Moapa Valley (10-2, 4-0) on Sept. 30, travels to Pahrump to face Pahrump Valley (5-5, 1-3) on Oct. 7, then welcomes rival Boulder City (8-2, 3-1) on Oct. 14.

Last season, Faith Lutheran was outscored in these three league games, 118-61.

Last season league champ Moapa Valley cruised to the 3A state title game where it was shut out by a Truckee (Calif.) team that outscored its playoff opponents, 129-0, en route to capturing the championship.

Hopefully providing a chance at a win in the last regular season game on Oct. 21 is a date at new 4A school Arbor View.

The 3A Southern League playoffs begin Oct. 28 with the championship game being held on Nov. 19.