The Falcons found their discipline and finally their wings.
The Foothills Falcons offence took off for 32 unanswered points in the second half to stun the Holy Trinity Academy Knights 47-7 Thursday night at Knights Field in front of approximately 1,000 fans.
Foothills had a slim 15-8 lead at halftime as they were less disciplined than Donald Trump at a debate.
“We had at least 150 yards in penalties and probably eight of them were unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike — a total lack of discipline in the first half,” Falcons coach Darren Olson said. “The guys played a lot better in the second half.”
And how.
The Falcons’ defence halted the Knights attack in the second half as HTA had a whack of two-and-outs.
Foothills upped its lead to 22-7 on their first drive of the second half when they took advantage of a Knights’ roughing the passer and an unnecessary roughness which moved the ball to the HTA 12.
Three plays later Foothills quarterback Tyson Pitcher took it on a plunge from the one-yard line for the 15-point lead.
Pitcher had a touch of riverboat gambler in him and his legs were his ace in the hole.
On the Falcons’ next drive, the Grade 11 student took off on a third-and-10 from the Knights 42-yard line and didn’t stop until he had the first down at the 26.
The gamble paid off. The drive would end with a one-yard TD from Payton Price for a 22-point lead.
Foothills would pierce the Knights’ armour at the end of the third quarter with a major that virtually put the game away at 37-6 with just 10 minutes remaining.
The Falcons added a 32-yard field goal from Seth Nelson and another quarterback sneak by Pitcher for the major in the fourth quarter to make the final 47-7.
Grade 10 rookie Payton Burbank had a breakout game in his young high school career.
He had a six-yard TD reception Foothills in the first half to give Foothills a 15-0 lead. He amassed more than 100 yards rushing, and might have had nearly doubled that if not for plays being called back on penalties — including a 75-yard romp for a major that was marched backwards.
“I got my first touchdown and it was a little hitch,” Burbank said. “This was probably my best game, and it’s good to have it against our cross-town rivals…. Our O-line was unbelievable tonight.”
The Falcons opened the scoring on a 71-yard TD by runningback Jude Oh on a trap play.
The Grade 11 Oh was impressive in his first game back after being roughed up in the Falcons’ season opener against the LCI Rams on Sept. 2.
Foothills then doubled its lead on Burbank’s major.
The Knights’ made things interesting when they lined up four receivers on the right side and quarterback Cameron Fietz hit a streaking David Bowers for a 60-yard touchdown to close the gap to 15-7 late in the second quarter. Fietz’s pinpoint pass went just over the fingertips of Falcon defender Ben Tighe.
But that was all HTA could muster.
Knights coach Matt Hassett said they weren’t able to handle the Falcons’ O-line.
“Their line kicked our line’s butt,” Hassett said of the Falcons o-line. “Evan (linebacker Bruynzeel) went down with an injury and he is our defensive captain. We had to put two Grade 10s in and then the Falcons were doing whatever they wanted on our front seven… I really thought that would be a strength for us.
“Foothills did a great job and we just didn’t respond.”
He said penalties really clobbered the Knights in the second half.
“We kept taking penalties that kept their drives alive and we just couldn’t get back on the field — you can’t do that against good teams like Foothills,” he said. “We’ve clearly got a lot of work to do.”
The Falcons’ O-line has been a work in progress this season. It looked fully operational against the Knights.
“We brought some of our young guys in and had some of our old guys help them out,” said Foothills right guard McKay Mullen. “We are coming along and getting our blocks in and doing a good job at creating holes for our quarterback.”
Fietz said the Knights will have to be better — including himself.
“I believe I didn’t execute as well as I could,” Fietz said. “We need to work more as a unit — trusting in our guys and doing our jobs. Execution was the word for that game and the lack of it.
“I think we have a lot of work to do.”
The nicked-up Knights are scheduled to host perennial Tier I powerhouse Raymond Comets Friday at 7 p.m.
However, Hassett said they may cancel the game in order for the Knights to get healthy for the Big Rock Football Conference semifinal, which they will likely host on Oct. 21. The Knights have a 2-4 record and are 2-1 in Big Rock play. The Falcons will play their annual Blackout Game when they host the defending Big Rock champions the Rundle Cobras Friday at 7 p.m.
The Falcons have a 3-2 record and are 2-0 in conference. Rundle is 1-1.
A victory would clinch first-place for the Falcons and a bye into the Big Rock final on Oct. 28, which they would host.
