ESCONDIDO -- Playing its first football game since the school added a high school in 1981, it wasn't exactly the result Calvin Christian officials, coaches and players were hoping for as the Crusaders dropped a 34-18 decision to Foothills Christian on a blazing-hot Friday afternoon.

"But I told the players this isn't an end. It's a beginning," said Calvin Christian coach Wally Zittle. "We only have three kids who had ever played football.

"Honestly, I think that for never having played a game, this is pretty remarkable."

Calvin Christian has made a three-year commitment to football.

School superintendent Terry Clark said $85,000 was raised to fund the program and the varsity has 32 players.

"We weren't going to do this without funding and without a commitment from the players and parents," Clark said. "We only have 90 boys in the high school, so we have a pretty good percentage of kids participating."

Despite the loss, Calvin did things right Friday.

Compared to larger schools, the crowd was small. But the stands were full, and there were fans ringing the home side.

Plus, the grass playing field was as good as you'll see anywhere.

"We had a blast," said Calvin Christian junior quarterback David Stout. "There is nothing like this.

"I've been playing basketball since grade school, but crushing legally someone on the football field is pretty special.

"We were a little nervous at first, but we settled in.

"We could have won, so that's encouraging."

Stout rushed for a touchdown, threw for 190 yards and a score and had two interceptions while playing defense.

But Foothills Christian quarterback Garret Campbell was the star of this game. He ran for two scores, threw for two more and ran back a kickoff for a touchdown. And he threw for a pair of two-point conversions.

Calvin fell behind 14-0 in the game's opening minutes, but Stout led a seven-play, 80-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak for the first score in school history.

The Crusaders trailed 20-12 at the half, but a bad snap on a punt gave Foothills and easy third-quarter TD.

David Baker, who sat out much of the second half with leg cramps, scored on a 5-yard run for Calvin in the fourth quarter to give Calvin a chance at 28-18. But Campbell put the game away with a 35-yard TD run.

"We started shaky, but we battled back," Zittle said. "We made mistakes, and I knew we would. But we made a game of it, and I couldn't be more proud of the effort."

Staff writer John Maffei can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.