Sep 3, 2008

Owls look to improve on a one-loss season

By Vytas Mazeika / Daily News Staff Writer

There's only one way Foothill College will be more successful than last season, and that's if the Owls go undefeated.

A single loss to eventual state champion City College of San Francisco was the only blemish on the 2007 campaign - the first with longtime assistant Doug Boyett at the helm. The encore gets going Saturday at home in Los Altos Hills against West Hills College.

"We're going to play 60 minutes of football," Boyett said. "The kids believe in that, it's part of our philosophy and what we call the Foothill way."

With an aerial attack featuring sophomore signal caller Dante Perez, there is little doubt about the offense's ability to pile up points.

"It's a lot different than last year," said Perez, who finished the 10-game regular season with 22 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. "Now I have a year under my belt. A lot of our guys, our linemen, are returning also. Now our chemistry is getting down."

"He's going to have a great season, and he's got a terrific supporting cast around him," Boyett said.

Perez's favorite target, wide receiver Chris Evering, is also back, meaning stretching out the defense won't be a problem. The pair hooked up 52 times for 671 yards and seven touchdowns as freshmen.

"And right now it's better than last year," Evering said. "We're on the same page."

The one thing Perez does need is time to throw the ball downfield. Both Perez and Evering stressed their success starts with the offensive line, and for the Owls there is experience and size up front.

"We make each other work hard," said returning left tackle Adrian Garcia, a graduate of Sequoia High School in Redwood City. "The intensity is there every day in practice."

"That's the heart of our offense, our offensive line," Boyett said.

Also back are right guard Daniel Schroeder and center Sam Timothy, who together will work on keeping defenders off Perez so that his uniform stays clean all season.

"Nobody is going to touch him this year," Garcia said. "That's a promise."

The one thing every offensive lineman loves to do is run-block, and the beneficiary of their work this season will be Jeremy Jordan (Menlo-Atherton High School), the top running back on the Foothill depth chart.

"We got the pass game down with Dante and Chris, so we're working on the run game," Schroeder said. "Running is our pride. Once we get that down, we can't be stopped."

On the defensive side, the experience lies with the secondary. Shut-down corner Brian Logan is back, as well as twin safeties Donte and Michael Almond, better known as the Dirty Birds.

"Self-dubbed," Michael said. "I think a lot of talking gets done without words being said on the defense. We practice real well as a unit."

The front seven won't be the biggest around, but that won't keep them from trying to be the best.

"We're not very big, but we're athletic and that's how we're going to play," Boyett said. "We're going to go after it."

The captain of the defense is Jeff Thomas, a Serra-San Mateo graduate who will be instrumental to the success of the Owls.

"We have really good interior linemen, they keep people off me," Thomas said. "And if they get by me, I got the Dirty Birds in the back. They're always lurking."

The Owls, ranked No. 6 in the state in the preseason poll, look primed for another run at the state title.



E-mail Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com.