IRVINE — If the Epsilon League opener on Friday night between Crean Lutheran and Foothill was any indication of where the power might lie, the Saints demonstrated why it should belong on their side of the field.
Crean Lutheran looked like the team to beat in the newly formed league during its 38-20 win against the visiting Knights, who scored two late touchdowns to make the score closer than how the game played out.
“They’re a good football program and getting better each and every year,” Foothill coach Doug Case said of the Saints (5-1, 1-0), who spent the past six seasons in the Empire League, finishing 0-5 as recently as 2021 before posting a 7-3 mark over the past two seasons.
Saints coach Rick Curtis said he expects the Epsilon League to provide the ideal level of competition for his team. Crean Lutheran still has league games remaining against La Habra, El Dorado, Huntington Beach and Laguna Hills.
“Everybody’s physical,” Curtis said. “It’s the kind of league that’s going to challenge us. It’s going to be competitive. We’ve got to be ready every week.”
The Saints have already withstood adversity after losing starting quarterback Caden Jones to a knee injury in a 23-9 loss to San Juan Hills on Sept. 13.
Freshman Dylan D’Epifanio has started the past two games and the Knights won them both. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns against Foothill.
“He’s done a great job,” Curtis said. “He’s smooth and pretty calm back there, so we’re really pleased with his progress.”
Taurian Nash led the ground attack for Crean Lutheran.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries, highlighted by a 93-yard touchdown burst on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.
“We’ve been working this offseason, we know what we have,” Nash said. “We have the players, it’s just going out here and executing.”
Crean Lutheran didn’t waste any time asserting dominance.
The Saints forced a three-and-out on the opening series and then marched down the field on their first offensive drive, taking a 7-0 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Nash.
Crean Lutheran made it 14-0 with 5:27 still left in the first quarter on a 55-yard touchdown reception by Drew Deese.
Colton Thorne kicked field goals of 40 and 37 yards in the first half for Foothill (3-3, 0-1), but the Saints took a 21-3 lead on a 9-yard touchdown reception by Carter Jones and stretched it to 24-6 on a 24-yard field goal by Connor Stephens with 32 seconds left in the first half.
Nash then unleashed his long touchdown run to start the second half, using a stiff arm to push away the final defender.
“I seen him out of the corner of my eye,” Nash said. “I knew I had to stiff arm him just to get into the end zone.”
Although the Knights received late touchdowns on a 52-yard reception from Nico Mancini and 4-yard run from backup quarterback Fysher Jamieson, Case said there’s plenty of work left to be done.
“We need to play better defense, we need to execute our offense better. We just need to get better across the board,” he said. “We didn’t have an easy game this year, so we’re trying to stay healthy and trying to compete.”
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