PALOS VERDES ESTATES – It was a long day for the Foothill offense.
Palos Verdes defender Nicolas Alessi intercepted a pass to open the game, and that led to a field goal for the Sea Kings.
Palos Verdes added a touchdown on its next possession, putting Foothill in a hole it couldn’t climb out of, resulting in a 17-7 road loss for the Knights.
“We were down in the red zone and we didn’t come with any points until late in the game,” Foothill coach Doug Case said. “If you’re going to get down there, you have to come out with something or it gets demoralizing.
“We made a ton of mistakes … It was not our best effort. Maybe the kids thought, hey, we’re 2-0, we don’t have to come out and play. Hopefully we can all check ourselves and get a little better next week.”
In the first half, the Knights (2-1) had six plays resulting in negative yards.
The Knights’ first trip into the red zone came with them trailing 10-0, and they were forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal, which flew wide.
It happened again in the third quarter while the Sea Kings (1-3) led, 17-0.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Knights finally got on the scoreboard with Jared Copeland’s 1-yard touchdown run, making the score 17-7 with 6:24 remaining.
Foothill got the ball back with 3:12 left, but Palos Verdes’ Adison Umrarong, who had a 46-yard touchdown run in the third, sealed it with an interception.
“I think they’re (Palos Verdes) a good football team, but I don’t think they’re the best we’re going to see this year,” Case said. “We have to learn to raise our level and execute. We were not firing on all cylinders by any means.
“Defense kind of kept us in the game, but offensively and our special teams let us down a little bit. We have come out with something every time we’re down there (in the red zone), unfortunately we couldn’t get that done. But our guys are going to get better, have some pride and play hard next week.”
The Knights are ranked fourth in the CIF-SS Southwest Division poll.
Palos Verdes, guided by former Corona del Mar coach Guy Gardner, had scored just 27 points in its first three games.
“I’m happy for the kids because you work really hard, but I thought the kids played hard today,” Gardner said. “It feels much better than being on the other side.”
Foothill visits Brea Olinda next week.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
