TUSTIN – Foothill and its defense left nothing for chance Thursday night when it came to their postseason future.
The Knights secured an automatic playoff berth in the Southwest Division by handling Esperanza, 17-0, in a Crestview League game at Tustin.
Foothill (7-3, 2-1) claimed the No. 2 seed in the league behind Villa Park (7-2, 2-0), which beat the Knights and closes Friday against Yorba Linda (3-6, 0-2).
The Knights could have applied for one of the division’s three at-large playoff berths had it lost Thursday but Foothill’s defense made sure that didn’t happen.
“We really wanted to have the secure victory,” said Foothill defensive end Jack Campbell, who recorded three sacks. “We felt really positive in the locker room. Everyone did their job today and we came out with a victory.”
Foothill defensive tackle Kealii Maiava also recorded two sacks while Dezmond Hodges and Ezekiel Saldana grabbed interceptions.
The Knights also held Esperanza (4-6, 1-2) , which needed a victory to make the playoffs, to 51 yards rushing on 31 attempts and 21 yards passing.
“Defensively, (we) posted a shutout when we needed a shutout and you got to be excited about that,” Foothill coach Doug Case said. “We like our chances moving forward.”
Foothill will advance to the “third season”, as Case likes to call the playoffs, for the 13th time in 15 seasons under Case. Esperanza could apply for an at-large berth even though it has a record below .500.
“In the sport of football, a .500 or better record is not required for at-large submission/selection,” states the CIF Blue Book.
The Aztecs’ defense played tough in its red zone but Foothill managed some production.
Foothill running back Dillon Brown capped a 30-yard scoring late in the third quarter with a 1-yard TD run for a 12-0 lead with 1:55 left. Chris Yaghi ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0.
Foothill’s defense, behind ends Campbell and Logan Wetherholt and interior linemen Yaghi, Maiava and Michael Robles, helped set up the good field position by forcing a punt deep in Esperanza territory. Campbell and Maiava had consecutive sacks during one sequence.
Foothill’s Evan Mickelson booted field goals of 26 and 47 yards and Aaron Day added a 29-yarderwith 2:34 left in the fourth.
“Offensively, we played well,” Case said. “We just got to get better in the red zone and we can’t make mistakes.”
The Knights received a scare with about 3:30 left in the first half when quarterback Preston Moebius left the game after a hard hit on a run. The junior returned in the second half and completed 5 of 6 passes for 43 of his 62 yards.
Esperanza’s Marcus Suruor recovered a fumble in the fourth on one of the Aztecs’ defensive stands. The Aztecs also had their own injury as 900-yard rusher Brett Mullins left in the second quarter and didn’t have another carry.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
