PREP EXTRA / SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : DIVISION V : Foothill’s Defense Sets in Defeat of Kennedy

Foothill’s defense dominated Friday night as the fourth-seeded Knights won their sixth game in a row, defeating Kennedy, 27-9, in the first round of Division V Southern Section playoffs at Tustin High.

The Knights’ defense held the Fighting Irish to 141 yards of total offense and sacked quarterback Jason Myles four times.

Senior defensive linemen Rich Bowman and Tony Tuioti and sophomore linebackers Lawrence Mariner and Rubin Vaughn didn’t give the 5-foot-7 Myles a moment’s peace. They were in his face all night.

“They have been calling themselves the Black Blanket or something like that,” Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said. “I called them the Wild Bunch all week. They have been uncontrollable.”

Foothill meets Valencia, a 28-0 winner against Westminster, in the second round of the playoffs Friday at a site to be determined.

Mariner gave the Knights (7-4) their first scoring opportunity when he stepped in front of running back Charlie Marino and intercepted a pass by Myles. Mariner returned the ball 30 yards to the Irish five-yard line. Quarterback Tyler Lang scored on a five-yard run two plays later with six minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Kennedy (8-3) began the second quarter with a 60-yard drive to Foothill’s 18-yard line, but the Knights’ defense was able to stall the drive and the Irish settled for a 36-yard field goal by Shy Azoulay.

On their ensuing possession with 3:45 left in the half, the Knights’ Tramel Robinson took a swing pass at the line of scrimmage and ran around the defenders for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Knights’ defense stopped Kennedy’s offense in four plays.

Then, with six seconds remaining in the half on a fourth-and-18 play from the Irish 28, Lang hit sophomore Danny Monarch in the corner of the end zone to put the Knights up, 20-3.