TUSTIN – Nothing truly hip came from Foothill’s offense on Friday night. Defensively, meanwhile, a grand slam erupted.
The Knights built a 17-9 home win over El Dorado at Tustin High with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and an attention-getting sack from 6-foot-4, 230-pound defensive end Logan Wetherholt.
That should send Foothill (4-2) happily toward next week’s last nonleague tuneup against El Modena, even if the Knights struggled when they had the ball.
“This was a performance above average for turnovers,” said defensive back Joey Schlemmer, a constant contributor in the victory. “Four is great for any defense I think, but we play a lot of juniors on ours.”
Schlemmer tipped a pass into the hands of fellow defender Chad McCune on a strong, accurate throw upfield from El Dorado quarterback Dominick Martinez midway through the second quarter.
That led to Foothill’s first touchdown, a 5-yard run from Jared Copeland putting the Knights up 10-3 with 3:42 left in the first half.
The Knights didn’t score again until there were six minutes left in the game – not that the their homecoming audience was left bored.
Schlemmer hustled to break up two passes on third- and fourth-down plays to stop the Golden Hawks (0-6) at the Foothill 29-yard line late in the second quarter.
Late in the third quarter, El Dorado was surging again until Austin Inkley intercepted a pass at the Foothill 13 with 1:05 left.
Minutes earlier, hulking Wetherholt unleashed a one-man display near the goal-line that seemed to define the triumph.
He picked up Martinez, a solid 6-foot-3 senior who gave El Dorado a game-high 81 yards rushing, and brought him to the ground in commanding fashion for a 7-yard loss. Two plays later, Wetherholt hustled to land Foothill’s third forced turnover on a fumble rolling on the ground.
He added a blocked pass on El Dorado’s next possession, though what truly sealed the Golden Hawks’ setback was defensive back Ayman Dandashi’s diving fumble recovery with 4:26 remaining in the game with Foothill ahead 17-3.
“It starts up front (defensively),” Schlemmer said. “And they do so well there that we just wait for our opportunities in the back.”
