PHOTOS: Crean Lutheran rallies for first victory in front of hometown fans

Crean Lutheran players (from left) Nico Taylor, Brody Jones and Evan Olbricht celebrate after a big play. (Photo courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs/Ted Rigoni)

Crean Lutheran’s football celebrated its first victory of the year Friday night, defeating California Military Institute 38-28 in a nonleague game on its campus field.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo

The game was originally scheduled to be played in Perris Thursday night, but was moved to Irvine because of poor air quality due to the Murrieta fire.

“Last night was a great night to be a Saint,” said Coach Randall Reynoso on Saturday. “The pre-game message was clear. Trust. Communicate. Remember the team mission, work with all your heart for the Lord.

“Heading into the game, we knew what CMI was going to do. On offense, let quarterback Joseph Milner make plays with his legs. On defense, they were going to try and overpower us with brute size and strength.

“For three quarters, they did just that. Down 28-17 with a little over two minutes left in the third, the Saints realized CMI was getting tired.”

Then, the Saints got inspired running from junior Nico Taylor (two touchdowns) and solid defense from linebacker Ryan Williams and the defensive line, Reynoso said.

Crean Lutheran (1-2) scored 21 unanswered points to secure the victory over CMI (0-3).

“It was an unusual week with the schedule change (game moved from Thursday night at CMI to Friday at Crean Lutheran) and with the change of venue,” Reynoso said.

“We were able to host a varsity game on our brand new turf field with the stadiums lights shining brightly over Crean Lutheran’s campus. It was a great motivational tool for our players and our administration, athletic department, and parents did so much to make this home game possible. We will, no doubt, look for improvement this week as we prepare for a very quality Fairmont Prep team (Thursday night at Portola).”