PREP FOOTBALL : Foothill Loses a Shutout, but Gains 9-6 Win

It wasn’t the easiest of victories, but Foothill High School football Coach Jerry Howell will gladly take it.

Courtney Keyler’s 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter helped Foothill earn its first Century League victory of the season Friday night as the Knights held off Villa Park, 9-6, in front of 2,000 at El Modena High School.

“You just can’t beat anybody in this league easily,” said Howell, whose team is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in league play. “Our kids played hard, but nothing has come easy for us so far this year.”

The Knights opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when quarterback Chad Ressler capped a 7-play drive by throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tom Hawkins. Keyler missed the extra point for a 6-0 lead.

Foothill’s defense also played an important role in the victory, limiting Villa Park (1-6, 0-2) to 56 yards rushing and 75 yards passing.

After Keyler booted the field goal that gave Foothill a 9-0 lead, Villa Park mounted its only scoring drive of the game. Quarterback Chris Johnson connected with Mike Noble for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 4:09 remaining in the game to cut the lead to 9-6. The Spartans were unable to convert the extra-point attempt on a bad snap from center that forced kicker Ted Burnette to fall on the football.

Villa Park got the ball back with 48 seconds to play, but on first down, Johnson’s pass was intercepted by Foothill defensive back Todd Delnoce and the Knights were able to run out the clock.

Foothill’s Brian Chodowski was the game’s leading rusher with 140 yards in 31 carries. Ressler completed 2 of 9 passes for 23 yards and 1 touchdown. Jomo Stewart led the Villa Park rushing attack with 59 yards in 13 carries.