Foothill looks to top Basic again

A late-season victory over Basic helped save the season for Foothill’s football team.

The Falcons (6-4) face the Wolves (7-3) again at 7 p.m. Thursday at Basic, and this time a berth in the Sunrise Region final is on the line.

“I think we’re feeling really good with the three-game winning streak that we’ve had,” Foothill linebacker Justin Dunlap said. “Playing Basic again is going to be an honor, and really a good football game. I can’t wait to play.”

Foothill’s 37-35 victory over Basic on Oct. 21 started the team’s three-game winning streak that included a 39-17 upset of Northeast League champion Canyon Springs in last week’s Sunrise Region quarterfinals.

“Our goal as a team has been to peak at the end of the season,” Foothill receiver Brandon Hargis said. “The threat of our season ending here pretty soon, we didn’t want that to happen. We finally got into a winning mindset.”

The Falcons fell behind 21-0 in the first meeting against Basic before rallying to take control. Foothill fell behind again last week before a 29-point fourth quarter. While he would like his team to get off to better starts, Foothill coach Marty Redmond knows the fourth quarter is going to be key.

“Our kids are going to battle to the end,” Redmond said. “We want to start a little faster, but we feel like we’re a team that’s built to win in the fourth quarter. We’re pretty big up front, we’re a pretty physical football team, so we feel like that’s when we’re supposed to win the football game.”

Redmond said one key to winning in the fourth quarter is the team’s offensive line wearing down opponents. Offensive linemen Jack Broyles, Austin Czarnecki, Austin Evers, Tyree Shepherd and Julian Bradley average 262 pounds.

“You can see at the beginning that the other teams really chase the ball down from behind a lot,” Redmond said. “And as the game goes on, that doesn’t happen and we really gain a lot of yardage in the second half running the football. Hopefully we can continue that trend.”

Foothill has rushed for 590 yards during the winning streak, led by junior running back Isaac Oliva and quarterback Jordan Wilson. Oliva is coming off a 133-yard effort against Canyon Springs, and Wilson has emerged as a strong dual-threat quarterback. He’s rushed for 429 yards and passed for 1,147 this season.

“We felt like our running game has really improved with both our running back and our quarterback,” Redmond said. “We feel like we can pound some teams, and then it just opens up our passing game for us.”

Hargis, who leads the team with 52 catches for 772 yards and eight touchdowns, is looking forward to another battle with the rival Wolves.

“Personally, I love the pressure,” Hargis said. “I think so does the team. That’s just going to help us play better. The last time we played Basic wasn’t nearly what we can do this time. I think this time’s going to be a lot better.”

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-458. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.