ANAHEIM – Gavin Folsom threw for 218 yards and five touchdowns, and Jack Johnson rushed for 206 yards and two scores as Crean Lutheran pulled away from Savanna in the second half to win, 56-21, Saturday at Glover Stadium.
Patrick McNerney was Folsom’s top target on the night, catching nine passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan O’Keefe and Aaron Fink also caught touchdowns passes.
The teams combined for eight touchdowns in the first half, including three in the final 46 seconds.
Johnson sat out back-to-back possessions after limping off the field early in the second quarter, but returned later in the quarter and scored on an eight-yard run to give the Saints a 28-14 lead with 46 seconds left in the half.
The Rebels quickly pulled to within a touchdown, as Angel Roberts returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown.
Crean Lutheran didn’t play conservatively in the final seconds of the first half. Instead, Folsom connected with McNerney on a 68-yard strike that put the ball at the Savanna 2-yard line and – following an illegal procedure penalty – Folsom found McNerney wide open for a 7-yard touchdown that gave the Saints a 35-21 lead with three seconds left before the half.
Savanna suffered a key loss in the first half when running back Sammy Delgadillo was thrown hard to the turf and kept out the remainder of the game. Delgadillo, who rushed for 173 yards on 11 carries and scored three touchdown in last week’s win against Bolsa Grande, scored on a 22-yard for the Rebels’ first points against Crean Lutheran.
Folsom didn’t play in the second half as he’s been nursing a sore ankle, so the Saints went with Johnson in the Wildcat formation and he scored on a 13-yard run to push the lead to 42-21.
Folsom returned later in the third quarter, however, and found McNerney for a 32-yard touchdown on his only pass of the second half.
