Lagudi’s fourth score gives Crusaders win over Jaguars

Faith Lutheran's Fabian Lagudi scored for the fourth time with 1:13 left Friday night to give the Crusaders a a 48-41 home win over Desert Pines in the Division I-A state quarterfinals.

The game was tied at 33 and 41 before the game-winner.

"Proud isn't even the right word for how I feel about these guys," Faith Lutheran coach Vernon Fox said. "God is so cool."

Desert Pines jumped out to an early 20-6 lead on touchdowns by Tim Hough, Dillard Davis and Malik Davis, but the Crusaders finished the first half with a 26-yard TD pass from Jake Deaville to Marc Rubalcaba and a 1-yard run by Lagudi. Early in the third, Faith Lutheran’s Keenan Smith scored on a 6-yard carry to give Faith a 27-20 lead. The Crusaders never trailed again.

Lagudi finished the night with 198 yards rushing on 23 carries, leading a couple of key Faith possessions, including a 9-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard Lagudi TD run with less than five minutes to play to make it 41-33.

But Desert Pines (9-2) had its own big playmakers in Hough and Iquan Corsey. On the ensuing possion, with the Jaguars facing a fourth-and-6 at their own 37 and just four minutes to play, Hough came back on a slightly underthrown pass from Corsey and converted the play into a 63-yard game-tying TD.

On the next drive, Faith Lutheran took to the air, getting a 7-yard pass from Deaville to Hunter Stimson to convert a third-and-5. Two plays later, a 37-yard Deaville pass to Vinny DeGeorge and 21-yard run by Lagudi set up the Crusaders for the winning score.

Faith Lutheran’s Trevor Driscoll nabbed an interception on Desert Pines’ next drive to seal the win.

Corsey finished the night with 220 yards passing and 70 yards rushing. Hough had three TDs and 189 yards receiving. Wilkes rushed for 107 yards on 14 carries. The Jaguars finished the season 10-2.

Deaville had 227 yards passing, including two touchdowns for Faith. Smith rushed for 84 yards on 14 carries. DeGeorge had 108 yards on three catches.

Faith Lutheran has won 10 straight and is 10-2.