Doxtator shakes off flu, leads Falcons past Jaguars
Foothill quarterback Drew Doxtator didn’t have the ideal day heading into the Falcons’ home playoff game against Desert Pines.
“I have the flu,” Doxtator said. “I was just really sick, and I was throwing up at school.”
With rainy, cold and blustery conditions at kickoff, Doxtator could have been excused for having an off night.
Instead, the sophomore signal caller tossed four touchdown passes Friday to lead the Falcons to a 34-12 victory over the Jaguars in the quarterfinals of the Sunrise Region playoffs.
The Falcons (8-2) advance to host rival Basic in the semifinal round Thursday at 7 p.m.
“Nothing really was a factor,” said Doxtator, who connected on 12-of-26 passes for 160 yards. “It doesn’t change week to week. I just read the coverage, listen to what the coaches tell me, read the defense and get it to the playmakers.”
Foothill coach Martin Redmond said he was impressed with the way Doxtator overcame his illness and the Jaguars.
“He was feeling a little better at game time, so that was important,” Redmond said. “He just runs our offense. He’s a machine out there. He just does what he’s supposed to do”
With Foothill holding a 14-0 at halftime, Doxtator helped the Falcons seize control by tossing touchdown passes of 2 and 20 yards to Kyle Keplinger in the third quarter to push the lead to 27-0.
Keplinger finished with a game-high seven receptions for 63 yards.
Redmond said another key was the play of the Falcon defense, which rebounded after giving up 49 points to Liberty a week ago.
“It was an important night for our defense,” Redmond said. “After last week, their pride was hurt a little bit, so to be able to step back up a little bit, that was big. I thought they played big, played physical and played tough. I thought they did a great job.”
Foothill held the Jaguars (4-6) to 53 total yards in the first half. But Desert Pines clawed back in the second half, after Eric Wilkes broke off a 74-yard TD run, and Travis Nofoa scored on a quarterback sneak from 3-yards that trimmed the lead to 27-12 with 9:03 left.
But Tate Warr recovered a fumble for the Falcons on a muffed punt, and Brandon Wiltz scored two plays later on a 15-yard run to seal the win for Foothill.
Redmond added that he was pleased with his team’s line play on both sides of the ball against Desert Pines’ superior size.
“They were a very big football team, and we were very concerned about their size coming into the game,” Redmond said. “For our front to play how they did and handle their offensive line was very important.”
Now Foothill will prepare for a rematch against rival Basic, which the Falcons had to rally from a 28-7 deficit for a 42-35 win Oct. 21.
“It’s just a rivalry game. It doesn’t matter what the records are,” Redmond said. “The kids will play hard, and you will see great effort and great plays.
“It’s going to be another crazy game. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
