Century League : Second Half Provides the Answers, Foothill Nips Santa Ana, 17-10

Foothill High School left the field at halftime of Friday night’s Century League opener against Santa Ana trailing, 10-0, and in desperate need of some answers.

The questions were two-fold:

--Why only 66 yards in total offense?

--What’s a defense to do about Santa Ana quarterback Eric Turner? The 6-foot 5-inch senior completed 7 of 11 passes for 11 yards and one touchdown while directing an offense that rung up 176 total yards.

The answers came in the second half. So did the points. And after 24 minutes of pointless frustration, the Knights turned what looked like a defeat waiting to happen into a a 17-10 victory in front of 3,000 spectators at Northrup Field.

The winning touchdown came with 1:05 to play on a 7-yard scoring pass from quarterback Chris Fergus to Adam Hairston, four plays after Fergus had limped off the field with a knee injury.

Fergus twisted his left knee when he was hit after completing a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Bill Medina that moved the ball to the Santa Ana 38. Brian Horton replaced Fergus at quarterback, and needed only to hand the ball to running back John Fischbeck on his first play. Fischbeck found a big hole for a 25-yard gain to the Saint 46.

Three plays later, Fergus limped back onto the field to throw the winning touchdown pass to Hairston, who was put into the game specifically to catch it.

“I got the OK from the trainer and the team doctor, so I just told Moon (Mullen) I was ready to go back in,” Fergus said.

“It was just a little play action pass we’ve practiced. He was standing there all by himself.”

The touchdown culminated a 67-yard, 12-play drive that the Knights began with 5:50 to play. Fischbeck carried seven times for 50 yards and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 96 yards on 24 carries.

But, as Mullen was quick to admit afterward, the Knights didn’t win this game with offense.

“We were looking for the defense to do something for us, and it did,” Mullen said. “The defense just turned this game around.”

The turnaround began on the second possession of the third quarter. Turner dropped back to pass deep in Santa Ana territory, and Foothill linebacker Matt Bain stepped in front of the intended receiver to intercept at the Santa Ana 34. Bain returned the ball the 11, and that was the answer to Foothill’s offensive problems.

Three plays later, Fegus found tight end Mike Gazzaniga open on a quick slant for a 7-yard touchdown pass. Carrick Brewster’s conversion kick cut Santa Ana’s lead to 10-7 with 5:47 left in the third quarter.

Turner would spend the rest of the night trying to recapture the momentum Santa Ana had in the first half. Foothill’s defense simply wouldn’t let him. He completed only 2 of 7 passes in the second half for 22 yards and threw two interceptions. He was sacked twice for losses totalling 21 yards.

And the running game that was at least mildly effective for Santa Ana in the first half was held to a minus-nine yards in the second. Total offense in the second half: 8 yards for Santa Ana, 108 for Foothill. Mullen said there were no dramatic speeches at halftime, only expressions of frustration.

“I was just disgusted,” he said. “They were doing everything we expected them to do. We just weren’t alert.

“That’s about the best second half we’ve had in a while. You could tell the difference. The defense just dominated.”

It was that defense that forced a Santa Ana punt from deep in Saint territory and gave Foothill the ball at its 46-yard line with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. That led to Brewster’s 42-yard field goal, tying the game at 10-10 with 8:57 remaining.