Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

2A schools to square off

All games 7 p.m.

Silverado at Green Valley

Basic at Foothill

Valley at Rancho

Desert Pines at Las Vegas

Western at Durango

Bishop Gorman at Clark

Palo Verde at Mojave

Centennial at Cim.-Memorial

Eldorado at Chaparral

Bonanza at Cheyenne

Pahrump Val. at Boulder City

Faith Lutheran at The Meadows

When Pete Reen took over as head coach of the struggling Faith Lutheran football program last season, his goal was simple: Instill a winning attitude in his Crusader players.

During the past year and a half, Renn has done just that, taking a squad that won just one game in 1998 and notching four victories since.

But Renn knows the Crusaders have a major hurdle to overcome before they can truly be considered a success: Defeat, or -- at the very least -- compete with area rival The Meadows.

The three-time defending 2A state champion Mustangs host Faith Lutheran tonight at 7 p.m. in a battle of Las Vegas' only Class 2A squads. The Crusaders' last win against The Meadows came in 1994, when both schools competed as eight-man Class 1A teams.

"It will be a challenge," Renn said. "Meadows has been top dog for a long time. Until teams get good enough to start beating them, it is a mental hurdle. We need to start acting like we've been doing this for years."

So far this season, the Mustangs (4-0, 1-0 Southern Division) have shown no signs of slowing down, outscoring their four opponents by a whopping 159-20 margin. The Crusaders (2-3, 0-1), meanwhile, have struggled of late, losing three straight after opening the season 2-0.

"For our part, we just have to take care of the little problems we've had and execute better," Renn said. "Our athleticism is better than it's been in the past, and our kids play tough and don't give up."

Coming off a bye week, Renn and his staff have had two weeks to prepare for their rivals, and he said they've used it to implement some new wrinkles on offense and to get healthy.

"We've been able to tweak the offense a bit, clean up some of the mistakes," Renn said. "A couple of kids had some lingering injuries, so they've been able to rest up."

The Meadows returned to competition after a two-week layoff last Friday and showed absolutely no signs of rust, pounding White Pine 62-0.

"It takes hard work to win, and that's what we did the past two weeks," Mustangs coach Frank DeSantis said. "I think at the beginning of the year we were overconfident, but I think we're over that."

For the Crusaders to compete, they'll likely need a big game from junior Ryan Hayes, the team leader in receptions. Hayes has also scored three TDs on kickoff returns.

The Meadows will continue to turn to leading rusher Pat Curran and the passing combination of Mike Paulos to Jeff Downer -- a duo that has already combined for five touchdowns. Coleman Hutzler and Thomas Lee lead a defense that has shut out two foes.

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