Jordan Wilson, Foothill rally past No. 4 Basic

The 2016 season has been long and disappointing for Foothill coach Marty Redmond, but Friday offered his team a chance at redemption.

The Falcons capitalized.

After falling behind by three touchdowns, Foothill took control in the second half and battled back for a 37-35 home victory over fourth-ranked Basic.

Jordan Wilson completed 20 of 28 passes for 292 yards and three TDs to lead the Falcons, and he added another 119 yards on 20 carries.

“It’s always good to beat Basic,” said Redmond, whose team trailed 21-0 midway through the second quarter. “These games are always like this, so we didn’t expect anything different.”

Wilson led a clock-eating 10-play fourth-quarter drive and scored on a 3-yard run up the middle to give Foothill a 37-28 lead with 2:23 remaining.

“I thought we had worn (Basic) down a bit by then,” Redmond said. “We had them on the ropes. You could just see them getting tired.”

But the Wolves’ offense had plenty energy in answering, as quarterback Aaron McAllister needed just over a minute to help Basic cap a 79-yard drive with an 8-yard TD pass to DeShawn Eagles to make it 37-35 with 1:03 left.

Foothill (4-4, 2-2 Southeast) recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran the clock out with the help of time-out communication problems on the Basic (6-2, 3-1) sideline.

The Falcons’ victory appeared unlikely early, as Dorian McAllister recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and Eagles had a 7-yard TD run to give the Wolves a 14-0 first-quarter lead. A Frank Harris 80-yard scoring sprint made it 21-0 with 8:05 left in the first half.

But momentum swung Foothill’s way after a 54-yard TD pass from Wilson to Brandon Hargis. A 1-yard Anthony McAllister run made it 21-14 at halftime.

Foothill finally tied it on another TD pass from Wilson to Hargis in the third, and Kealii Maruyama’s 26-yard field goal gave the Falcons their first lead at 24-21 with 7 minutes left in the quarter.

“I think we’ve got one of the best kickers, and we knew he was going to make it,” Redmond said. “We wanted to put some points on the board, and that ended up being the difference.”

A 95-yard Patrick Lustin kick return momentarily returned the lead to Basic, but Foothill answered with a 21-yard TD pass from Wilson to Joel Heintz to go back ahead 30-28 late in the third. That set up Wilson’s late heroics.

Heintz caught 10 passes for 146 yards to help Foothill, and Hargis added 111 yards on four receptions.

McAllister completed 20 of 30 passes for 246 yards to lead Basic.