Doxtator, Falcons retain El Rancho Bell, down Silverado

Sixth-ranked Foothill looked to be the better team on paper going into a home game against Silverado on Friday night.

That became abundantly clear after the Skyhawks’ starting quarterback Savon Moniz left the game with an apparent left leg injury midway through the first quarter.

The Falcons (6-1, 3-1 Southeast) dominated from that point, retaining the prized El Rancho Bell with a 28-13 victory.

“That was a huge play in the game when he went out. When he went down, the whole momentum of the game shifted,” Foothill coach Martin Redmond said. “They had a little more difficulty throwing the ball and we expected them to run it after that, so it was much easier on our defense.”

While Silverado’s (2-5, 1-4) senior quarterback was ailing, Foothill’s sophomore signal-caller was thriving.

Drew Doxtator completed 19 of 32 passes for 229 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.

“They were playing man-to-man and we just kind of took advantage of it,“ said wide receiver Kyle Keplinger, who hauled in nine passes for 139 yards and two scores. “We just felt our wide receivers were better than their defensive backs and we thought we could take advantage of that. They were showing us exactly what we practiced for all week.”

Keplinger’s first touchdown, a 20-yarder right down the middle of the field, gave the Falcons the lead for good late in the first quarter.

Silverado struck first with an 8-play, 80-yard opening drive that was capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Izaiah Thurmon. The Skyhawks defense then forced a three-and-out, but Moniz was injured on the second play of the ensuing offensive drive and the Silverado offense gained just seven yards and failed to get a first down for the rest of the first half.

It didn’t take long for Foothill to take advantage.

An 18-yard punt return by Tyren Boykin set up a 9-yard TD pass from Doxtator to Boykin to tie the score late in the first quarter. The Falcons took the lead for good just 19 seconds later on Doxtator’s pass to Keplinger on Foothill’s first play after recovering a Silverado fumble.

A 41-yard Boykin punt return in the second quarter set up another Doxtator to Keplinger scoring strike, this time on a jump ball in the end zone as Keplinger came down with the ball over two defenders.

“I just try to follow the wall and hope I can find some space and get a good return,” said Boykin, who added an interception deep in Foothill territory in the third quarter.

“This win means a lot to us.”

All but ensuring a playoff spot was one reason. Keeping the prize in the rivalry between the two schools was another.

“This is huge,“ Keplinger said. “Keeping the bell senior year, it’s great.”

The younger players still have to be schooled on the significance of the trophy.

“I just learned about it this week,“ Doxtator said with a laugh. “I had no clue.”

Silverado got the final points of the game on a 51-yard run on a reverse by Deandre Gause, who finished with 118 yards on 10 carries.

The play came after Doxtator gave the Falcons a 28-7 lead with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Morris early in the third quarter.

“We pass well all the time,“ Redmond said. “We have a good quarterback, good receivers and our line protects extremely well, so it’s just a big part of our offense.”

The Foothill defense had a good night as well, consistently making life miserable for Silverado backup quarterback Matt Eastman.

The senior was 0-for-4 and threw an interception in more than three quarters of action after Moniz completed his only two attempts for 20 yards.

Thurmon ran for just 71 yards on 22 attempts.