Faith Lutheran, Virgin Valley to battle for Southern League supremacy

Jacob Kothe knew he had a special wide receiver on his hands after watching Don Pearson shine at the junior varsity level last season.

But it wasn’t until the Faith Lutheran football coach saw Pearson hitting the weights over the spring and summer that he realized how productive he could be.

As it turns out, Pearson leads the Las Vegas Valley in receptions. The 6-foot-3-inch sophomore has hauled in 35 passes for 527 yards and nine touchdowns heading into the Crusaders’ Class 3A Southern League opener against visiting Virgin Valley at 7 p.m. Friday.

“He just really committed himself to be a better football player,” Kothe said of Pearson. “He was down here all summer in the weight room, all spring, didn’t miss anything.

“So I think he’s seen the benefits of his commitment.”

Pearson could play as big a role as anyone in Friday’s game, which pits two 4-1 teams against each other to determine who gets the early leg up in the four-team league.

Pearson attributed his statistics to the fact that many teams focus their attention on Faith Lutheran senior slot receiver David Sperry, who is drawing recruiting interest from several Football Championship Subdivision schools.

“David being on the other side and everyone else getting all the attention, the offense has kind of clicked this year,” Pearson said.

Faith Lutheran sophomore quarterback Joe Portaro has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,050 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Portaro is at the controls of a spread attack that has seen four players already reach double digits in catches — Pearson (35), Sperry (15), Brett Lubbe (14) and Croix Nikodemus (13).

“They’ve got some good athletes at the receiver spot,” Virgin Valley coach Kirk Hafen said.

The same could be said of the Bulldogs, who have a wing-T base offense but have flashed an explosive passing game.

Virgin Valley senior quarterback Terran Leavitt has passed for 781 yards and 12 touchdowns with only two picks. Anthony Morris has caught 22 balls for 309 yards and six scores.

And the Bulldogs boast a more productive ground game than the Crusaders, with Colton Teerlink (524 yards, six TDs) leading a rushing attack that has amassed 1,026 yards in five games.

“We’ve played them long enough to know that they’re going to try to run it down our throats,” Kothe said. “But if they come out in their passing game, we have no problem with that at all. We think that’s an advantage to us.”

Virgin Valley lost four starting offensive linemen to graduation last season, but senior center Wyatt Robinson has led a reshuffled group that has been vital, Hafen said.

“Our line’s made big improvement this year,” he said.

Though defending 3A state champion Moapa Valley (2-2) remains No. 1 in the most recent 3A/2A coaches’ poll, the 3A Southern League appears wide open.

None of the four teams have a losing overall record, and upstart Boulder City (3-1) already has matched its win total from last season.

The result of Friday’s game, though, should go a long way toward giving either the Crusaders or Bulldogs a head start.

“We’re excited to get it going,” Kothe said. “Virgin Valley’s a good team, and we’re looking forward to the challenges and a great team Friday night.”