La Quinta Defense Does the Job in 26-7 Win Over Foothill

The La Quinta High School football team walked away from Friday night’s nonleague game against Foothill with a few serious bruises.

Starting linebacker Rick Wilson had to be carried off the field in the second period after injuring his knee. Offensive guard John Boston (ankle injury) and linebacker/tight end Mike Carlevato (shoulder injury) also were forced to retire early.

It was one of those nights. Even an Aztec cheerleader, Kristi Harper, broke her leg when she fell from the top of the human pyramid she had helped form before halftime. She was taken away in an ambulance.

Yes, La Quinta was beaten up.

But the Aztecs weren’t beaten.

La Quinta forced five Foothill turnovers, and its defense scored three touchdowns to lead the Aztecs to a 26-7 victory in front of 2,500 fans at Bolsa Grande Stadium.

Bart Recktenwald, who was ejected from the game for a late hit with about a minute left in the third quarter, scored a touchdown on a five-yard run in the first period and returned an interception 20 yards in the third quarter for another touchdown.

Lee Fraser returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the third period, while Mike Zaby picked up a fumble and raced 54 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

The La Quinta defense sacked two Foothill quarterbacks four times, intercepted two passes and forced four fumbles, recovering three of them. While their offense had only one scoring drive and managed just 144 total yards, the defense thoroughly dominated the Knights.

“The defensive line played much better than they did last week against El Dorado (a 20-19 loss),” Recktenwald said. “They penetrated well and the defensive backs were able to fill.”

Foothill averted the shutout by driving 40 yards in the fourth quarter, John McTaggart scoring from the one-yard line and Carrick Brewster adding the point after. But other than that, it was a miserable night for the Knights.

They may have outgained La Quinta in total yardage (Foothill finished with 154), but they also had a 5-0 advantage in turnovers. About the only positive thing for Foothill Coach Ted Mullen was that none of his players suffered any serious injuries in what was a very physical game.

But the Knights’ pride was certainly wounded. This is the first time Mullen’s Foothill teams have lost three games in a row. Foothill, which lost in the quarterfinals last year, was ranked No. 1 in the Southern Conference preseason poll, but the Knights have lost their first two games to Capistrano Valley and La Quinta by identical scores, 26-7.

“Not only did we make mistakes, we were out-hit, out-charged, out-tackled and out-blocked,” Mullen said. “It’s pitiful. I’ve never had a team with this bad an attitude and that’s my fault. I thought we were ready to play, but were obviously not a very good team.”

Mullen thought his defense would be the team’s strong point early in the season, but La Quinta opened the game with a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that consumed nearly nine minutes. Recktenwald handled the scoring honors with a five-yard run around the right side.

But that was about all the offense La Quinta could manage, as the Knights’ defense finally buckled down.

But the Knights’ offense buckled under, as starting quarterback Chris Fergus completed just 2 of 9 passes for 30 yards and was intercepted twice, both going for La Quinta touchdowns.

His replacement, Brian Horton, came on in the fourth quarter to complete 6 of 10 passes for 82 yards, but he had the luxury of throwing against an Aztec secondary devoid of Recktenwald, the team’s free safety and best defensive player.