Upset-Minded

Robby Koster is two minutes into the interview and is rambling about the season. He has said “the main thing is to win” no fewer than four times.

Make no mistake, Koster wants to win.

His three touchdown passes last week helped Foothill stage one of the more improbable victories of high school football’s opening weekend, a 35-15 beating of Tustin, which was sixth in The Times Orange County’s preseason rankings.

But if Foothill’s domination of Tustin was tainted in some way--maybe Tustin isn’t as good as everyone thought--Koster and his teammates can make another statement tonight when they play sixth-ranked Woodbridge, a veteran team known for its stingy defense.

Last year, in the second week of the season, Woodbridge ended its streak of 26 consecutive games without a victory by beating Foothill, 22-17.

Koster, a senior quarterback, remembers it well. His last-second pass for an apparent touchdown was negated by a holding penalty that cost the Knights a victory. Woodbridge went on to finish 8-2-2. Foothill, Koster said, underachieved and finished 6-6.

“I thought Woodbridge played with a lot of heart, a lot of emotion and never gave up,” Koster said. “[This year] there shouldn’t be any excuses for anything, win or lose. I think it’s going to be a great game.

“Woodbridge is definitely stacked; they’re going to be a lot tougher than Tustin. I have a lot of respect for them.”

Foothill showed the kind of discipline and execution against Tustin that might have prevented last season’s loss to Woodbridge.

Foothill Coach Casey Mazzotta, on the job for only two months, drilled execution into his players’ subconscious upon his arrival. He also came in with his eyes wide open.

“When I got this job, the only thing I heard about was ‘You have a great running back [Skyler Champion],’ ” Mazzotta said. ‘Once I was here awhile, I realized we had some pretty nice wide receivers and a quarterback. It’s nice to see some options.”

Champion rushed nine times for 109 yards and touchdowns of 69 and nine yards against Tustin. Koster completed nine of 14 passes for 227 yards and touchdowns of 29, 83 and 53 yards.

“Robby makes us multidimensional,” Mazzotta said. “Everyone who saw Foothill last year, the talk was about the running back [Champion] who ran over 1,000 yards. It’s nice to have a quarterback who can do what Robby can do. Guys have to play honest on defense.”

Last year, Koster passed for 1,189 yards and 17 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Though Koster can stretch the field with his arm, Mazzotta--who played receiver at Brigham Young--is especially impressed with the touch on Koster’s passes.

“Touch is overlooked in a lot of aspects of football,” Mazzotta said. “I played with [John Walsh] at BYU who wasn’t known for having the strongest arm in the world, but he always put the ball in the right spot.

“As a defensive back, the balls don’t look pretty, but they always seem to be in a spot where you can’t get to them.”

Koster gives a lot of credit to offensive coordinator Tom Ricci, who was a quarterback coach at Irvine the last four years.

“Whatever the coaches say, I listen,” Koster said. “I’m just a baby at this. I want to pick their brain and use it for my strength. I’ve been told to pick the brain of other coaches too.

“Learning is not one of my strengths. I get good grades, but I’m a visual learner. I have to do it to learn. That’s one of my weaknesses.”

Koster seems to be a quick study.

“Last year, [Koster] didn’t have a quarterback coach, per se,” Mazzotta said. “This year, he has someone with him daily coaching him on technique. That alone is making a big change in his performance.”

“[Ricci] works hard with Robby to make good decisions. [Quarterback] is no longer just a guy with a good arm, but a guy with a good arm who can think and make a good decision.”

Making good decisions will be especially important against Woodbridge. Koster and Mazzotta said this will be the toughest defense they face during the regular season. Koster could face a lot of pressure.

“[Koster] does have the ability to evade the rush. He’s mobile enough to do that,” Mazzotta said. “That’s what makes him dangerous.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WOODBRIDGE VS. FOOTHILL

Featured Game

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Tustin High

Records: Woodbridge 2-0, Foothill 1-0

Rankings: Woodbridge is No. 5 and Foothill is No. 7in the Southern Section Division VI rankings.

Noteworthy: Woodbridge is coming off a 27-7 victory over Pacifica in which Scott Barlow passed for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Shane Harris, safety and running back, left with an ankle injury, but will likely play. If not, that hurts the Warriors more on defense because Brandan Runk, who rushed 13 times for 79 yards against the Mariners, can pick up the slack on offense. Foothill won’t face a tougher defense during the season, so the pressure’s on quarterback Robby Koster to make the right reads against Woodbridge’s multiple formations. The passing game should benefit from Foothill’s formidable running threat, Skyler Champion.