Caden Chittenden’s 30-yard field goal as time expired gave the Faith Lutheran football team a 24-21 victory over visiting Palo Verde in the season opener for both schools.
Faith Lutheran trailed by seven points entering the fourth quarter, but evened the score on a 26-yard touchdown reception by Mason Aday from Garty Odom.
“Palo Verde played very well,” Faith Lutheran coach Mike Sanford said. “I am proud of our players. They came back and showed some character at the end.”
Faith Lutheran started strong after nearly two hours of weather delays. Aday opened the scoring with a touchdown reception from Alex Rogers and Odom scored on a 14-yard run
But Palo Verde came storming back with three unanswered touchdowns, including scoring runs from Crew Daniel and Bryant Johnson.
Faith Lutheran rotated Rogers and Odom under center in the fourth quarter rally, and both excelled leading the offense, Sanford said.
“I love both of those kids,” the coach said. “They showed a ton of grit.”
Faith Lutheran did a good job of bringing the ball deep into Palo Verde territory to set up Chittenden — the Crusaders’ all-state kicker — for the win, Sanford said.
And, of course, Chittenden wasn’t going to miss — especially after misfiring on a 50-yard attempt at the end of the first half.
“We have a lot of trust in our kicker,” Sanford said.