Football: Foothill Cruises Past Novato

Foothill 37, Novato 12

The Star: Foothill running back Cody Connolly, a junior who rushed for three touchdowns.

The Turning Point: A 21-point second quarter in which Foothill took a 23-6 lead.

The quote: "We move the chains, try to attack the defense and eat clock," Foothill coach Matt Sweeney said.

What's Next: Sept. 17 at James Logan in Union City, 7 p.m.

Bottom line: With all the talk of a new offense — the double-wing — it has been the defense which has shined in the first two weeks of the season.

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At some point this season, the Foothill High football team is expected to have a sloppy offensive game. That's just going to happen when you institute a new offense, like the double-wing started this year by veteran coach Matt Sweeney.

And when that does happen, it'll be good to know the defense is going to be a good crutch to lean on.

In a 37-12 non-league win over visiting Novato Friday, Foothill held the Hornets (0-2) to a hard-earned 199 yards, had a safety, recorded three sacks, had an interception and the defensive line blocked two PATs.

"We just run around and have fun," said R.J. Anderson, who had a sack. "It's all about doing your job."

With the win, Foothill improved to 2-0. The Falcons have now beaten Novato three straight years. The last loss came in 2007, a 25-22 thriller. Foothill owns the all-time series, that dates back to 2006, 4-1.

Friday's game didn't get off to the kind of start Sweeney would have liked.

After a three-and-out that included two false start penalties, Foothill punted to Novato with 9:21 left in the first. The Hornets drove 47 yards on nine plays that culminated in a Dustin Treisk one-yard, quarterback-keeper touchdown and a 6-0 lead.

"We came out slow," Anderson said. "It's all about getting a couple of three-and-outs to get our confidence back."

The defense stormed back and put Foothill's first points on the board with 14 seconds left in the first quarter when a swarming rush got to the Novato punter, who was forced to run out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

That safety was just the start for Foothill's defense. Novato's next four series of plays resulted in three three-and-outs and an interception.

"They need to show up and play every week," Sweeney said of his defense. "They are going to carry us through some rough patches."

Meanwhile, the offense began to click. The Falcons scored 21 points in the third quarter. Running back Cody Connolly scored two of his game-high three touchdowns in the second.

Foothill quarterback David Camarena was effective in an 8-for-10 effort with 79 yards passing. His 12-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Rowland with five seconds left in the second quarter gave Foothill a commanding 23-6 lead at the half.

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Foothill 37, Novato 12

Novato    6  0 6 0 — 12
Foothill  2 21 7 7 — 37

Scoring summary
5:15, 1^st: N — Treick 1 run (kick blocked)

:14, 1^st: F — safety, kicker ran out of end zone

9:39, 2^nd: F — Connolly 2 run (Castillo kick)

2:51, 2^nd: F — Connolly 1 run (Castillo kick)

1:05, 2^nd: F — Rowland 12 pass from Camarena (Castillo kick)

6:10, 3^rd: N — Treick 34 run (kick blocked)

1:14, 3^rd: F — Connolly 1 run (Castillo kick)

8:05, 4^th: F — Kacinski 1 run (Castillo kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing (car-yards): N — Treick 9-59, Walter 8-27, Shave 5-21, Peleki 6-13, Changeux 1-0. F — Connolly 13-44, Jeffries 6-37, Camarena 6-28, Gates 8-24, Kacinski 6-11, Jurich 3-4, Rowland 3-4, Woodward 5-(-1).
Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): N — Treick 4-18-62-1. F — Camarena 8-10-79-1.
Receiving (rec-yards): N — Peleki 2-35, Nelson 1-21, Brocco 1-6. F — Rowland 6-54, Sieverding 1-15, Ferrell 1-10.

Team offense (rush-pass-total)

Novato — 120-79-199.

Foothill — 151-79-230.

Fumbles/lost: Novato 1/1; Foothill 3/1

Records: Foothill 2-0, Novato 0-2.

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