PREP FOOTBALL: Pumped for postseason

Foothill maintains strength despite offseason changes

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Despite being bounced from the 2004 playoffs by one point by an upstart Valley team in the Sunrise Region quarterfinals, graduating several key players and then losing the only head football coach the school has ever had in the offseason, Foothill High School has done a pretty remarkable job of maintaining momentum this season.

The Falcons' perfect 11-0 season ended with a close playoff loss to Valley last year. The team lost standout quarterback Arthur Mayville and lineman Antonio Hartwell to graduation. To cap it all off, coach Ray Fenton left the Falcons to take a position with his alma mater in Cypress, Calif., over the summer.

When the smoke cleared, new head coach Marty Redmond seemed to be inheriting more of a project than a prospective winning team at Foothill.

But with one of the state's leading rushers in junior D'Angelo Jones (2,042 rushing yards in 2004 with 27 touchdowns) in the fold and a team that prides itself on a hard work ethic, the Henderson high school team -- which has dominated play in the Sunrise Region's Southeast Division over the last couple of years -- wanted absolutely nothing to do with a rebuilding year.

Foothill (8-1, 4-1 Southeast), ranked No. 1 by the Las Vegas Review-Journal for most of the season, answered a couple of big questions the first two weeks of the season when it traveled to Eldorado and clobbered the talented Sundevils, 51-23, in the season opener. The Falcons followed that up with an huge 36-27 come-from-behind win at home against defending state champion Palo Verde, which was riding the heels of a 15-game winning streak.

After spanking Bonanza (34-7) and Lynwood, Calif., (37-7), the Falcons began Southeast Division play with two easy wins against Del Sol (56-20) and Green Valley (41-14) before facing their two stiffest tests in the league -- Coronado and Silverado.

After jumping out to sizable leads in both games, Foothill held on to beat Coronado, 41-38, and Silverado, 25-22, staying unblemished in the league.

Redmond said his team is playing well heading into the homestretch.

"You know we've done some really good things but we've kind of went back to some fundamental things that we've kind of gotten lax on," he said. "But overall, we're pretty happy with the direction we've been going in."

On offense, Foothill, which was averaging 38.3 points per game, is being led by running back extraordinaire Jones (1,414 rushing yards, 19 TDs), who had moved up to the fifth-leading rusher of all time in Nevada, passing Mountain View Christian School's Shedrick McClenton and his 3,936 career rushing yards.

Redmond said Jones -- who was second in Southern Nevada in rushing yards as of press time behind Las Vegas' Jamal Lomax -- means a lot to his team.

"Obviously, he's a very talented, special athlete so he makes a big difference," Redmond said. "And he's going to get his yardage every game. I don't know if teams really shut him down, they just kind of contain him a little bit. But we also have a lot of other athletes that get a lot of yards and make a lot of big plays week in and week out."

Another junior, quarterback James Silvas, has done a pretty impressive job filling Mayville's shoes.

"He came in pretty well for a junior. He was on the varsity as a sophomore and got some good playing time last year so he was a pretty experienced kid coming in, and he's doing a good job of running the offense," Redmond said. "We're comfortable with him throwing the ball and leading the team in the direction we need to go. And we have some good receivers for him to throw to. We're very comfortable throwing the ball as well as running it."

The top targets for Silvas (61-127, 1,058 passing yards, 12 TDs) include Brandon Baker, Zac Espejo and Brian Miller.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Falcons, who are allowing 22 points per game, were also getting strong play out of their returning starters.

Senior linebacker Dominick Bellini is leading the team in tackles, followed by fellow seniors Burton Ritchie and Espejo, while senior defensive lineman Michael Stokes and senior linebacker Joe Struzik were tied for the team lead in sacks.

Throw in the stellar play of senior linebacker Danny Osorio and senior defensive back Baker -- who leads the team with three interceptions -- and one can see why Foothill is a formidable foe on both sides of the ball.

It has helped that the transition to a new head coach has been carried out seamlessly, perhaps because like his predecessor, Redmond has been working at Foothill since the school's opening.

"The kids have been great and the assistant coaches primarily all stayed, so it hasn't been as big as a change for the kids as you would think with a new coach coming in," Redmond said. "And a lot of things are very similar. Of course, we do tweak things here and there, but just the format of how we run practice and prepare for the games is very similar to how it was when Coach Fenton was with the team.

"We knew coming in that we ... had a chance to be pretty good this year, and I think a lot of that credit goes to the kids because they have worked hard and they didn't let that (Fenton leaving) affect them."

Trying to put the wraps on another undefeated regular season, Foothill hit a speed bump on Oct. 21 at Basic when the Wolves (2-3, 4-5) raced out to a 28-0 lead against their Henderson neighbors and handed Foothill its first loss of the year, 40-21, in one of the biggest upsets this season.

With just one regular season game left on the schedule -- against Liberty on Oct. 27 -- the Falcons were still in a position to be the top seed from the Southeast due to their head-to-head win over Silverado.

Foothill opens the playoffs against the Sunrise Northeast Division's No. 4 seed -- Canyon Springs, Chaparral or Eldorado -- at home on either Friday or Saturday. If Foothill should win its postseason opener, it will host the Sunrise semifinals on Nov. 10 where a rematch with Valley is a distinct possibility.

"We're looking at the matchups right now and how teams might be seeded and we know that matching up with the Northeast, we think that Valley and primarily (Las) Vegas are a couple of teams to look out for," Redmond said. "We have to continue to play disciplined football and keep the work ethic up, stay healthy. We don't have a ton of depth on our team so staying healthy is very important.

"And then just being able to execute when we need to down the stretch. There are certain plays that are going to be huge in games, and if you don't execute, obviously you're not going to move on (in the playoffs)."

The state semifinals will be held Nov. 26, with the state championship game being played the following Saturday, Dec. 3.