Foothill football team gearing up for road opener

Foothill Coach Doug Case is pleased with his squad so far.

Foothill’s football team is making progress as it prepares for its season opener on Friday, Aug. 17 on the road against Dos Pueblos.

“The camp has gone well,” Case said Friday night before a six-way scrimmage at Tustin. “We have a lot of young players who are making an impact. Hopefully they will make a big impact all year long.”

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“We were young last year so those kids have matured a little bit. Things are looking pretty good. We’ve got 48 players on the varsity team right now and there are a couple of JV kids that we’re also looking at possibly bringing up. The program is in good shape. We have over 130 kids in the program.

“We have to fight through what we went through last year.”

Foothill, which was hit by injuries to key players last year, finished 1-9.

“That was a huge factor last year,” Case said. “On senior night, we had 16 seniors not suited up for senior night. It was a tough year last year. But that’s behind us. We’re focused on the future and rebuilding the program. And we’re looking for an outstanding year.”

Foothill typically begins its season with a long road trip and this year is no exception.

Case wasn’t able to find a game in the San Luis Obispo area because of some CIF realignments, but he was able to arrange a game with Dos Pubelos.

“I don’t know if its luck or not, they were 12-2 last year so we’ll see what happens, but it’s a great trip for us,” Case said.

The team will stay at UC Santa Barbara.

“The team bonding deal is awesome, and it gives the players and the team a chance to see what college life is all about,” Case said. “And living in the dorms for two nights and eating the cafeteria food and doing some team building exercises, that’s all good.

“Obviously our goal is to get up there and get our first victory and we’re going to have to execute to the best of our abilities.”