El Modena Defeats Foothill, 35-21, Starts to Compute Playoff Possibilities

It took El Modena High School Coach Bill Backstrom almost as long to explain the playoff possibilities in the Century League as it did for his team to defeat rival Foothill, 35-21, Thursday night in Fred Kelly Stadium.

The waiting game could be the hardest part because El Modena needs some help from Santa Ana and Villa Park tonight if it hopes to earn the No. 3 berth in the six-team league with a 3-6-1 record and 2-3 league mark. Here’s the scenario tonight:

Co-leaders Villa Park and Santa Ana, both 3-1, play Canyon (1-3) and Santa Ana Valley (2-1), respectively. If all goes to form and the leaders win, El Modena will earn the final playoff berth by virtue of its victories over Santa Ana Valley and Foothill.

Backstrom is leery that little has gone to form in the Century League this year. He only needs to be reminded of a 32-6 loss last week to Canyon that put his team in a must-win situation against Foothill.

The worst scenario for El Modena would be if Canyon upsets Villa Park, forcing a four-way tie for second place. A coin flip would determine the league’s No. 2 and No. 3 entries to the Division III playoffs which begin next Friday.

Backstrom is well aware of the consequences of a coin flip. Three years ago, El Modena finished in a three-way tie for second in the league and was the odd team out, missing the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

El Modena was certainly in playoff form against Foothill. The Vanguards scored on their opening three possessions to take a 21-0 lead as tailback Adam Garcia threw option passes of 20 and 14 yards for touchdowns and ran six yards for another score.

Garcia moved to running back two weeks ago, but the junior still gets his hands on the ball. He completed three passes for 60 yards and rushed for 75 yards in 20 carries.

Foothill (4-6, 2-2) made a strong comeback in the second half behind the running of junior Sean Saunders. Saunders led all rushers with 83 yards and also scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Foothill moved to within a touchdown, 28-21, with 3:07 remaining when Gregory Clark caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Shanahan and Saunders scored on a two-point run.