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.