Are the Foothill Owls on a losing streak?

The Foothill Owls are now on a two-game losing streak after their October 14th and 21st games against the West Hills Coalinga Falcons and the Redwoods College Corsairs respectively, losing both games by two or more possessions. Throughout the October 21st game, the Redwoods Corsairs dominated on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Here are three things that were learned in that game:

The Foothill Owls did not have an answer for the Corsairs offense. Handsome Smith, a running back for the Redwoods Corsairs, was able to rack up a total of 125 yards (121 rushing, 4 receiving) and two touchdowns through the running game, while Quentin Bates and Robert Ferrel, wide receivers for the Corsairs, caught 10 passes for a total of 216 yards and three touchdowns through the passing game. Considering the Foothill Owls have allowed 100+ rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns for the majority of their games this season, the Corsairs rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns is not too surprising. Shockingly, the Owls, who, up until this game, have fared well against the pass on average allowing just 175.7 passing yards per game — allowing the Corsairs a total of 275 passing yards. The Corsairs would eventually rack up 404 total yards on offense, scoring 33 points in the process.

Ultimately, the Owls need to try and regain the brand of football that they played during their early 6 game winning streak.

Offensively and defensively our Foothill Owls seemed to struggle to live up to their stats. Offensively, their 243 yards via passing exceeded their average of 192.9 yards, but the Owls rushing game was another story. They only rushed for 66 yards on 30 attempts — 56.3 yards fewer than their average. Prior to Saturday’s game, the defense allowed just 192.9 passing yards and 108.3 yards rushing yards on average per game, which are pretty respectable numbers. But against the Corsairs, they allowed 275 passing yards and 129 rushing yards. The Owls were outplayed by the opposition in all aspects of the game.

The Owls may have had luck on their side early on in the season. For the first 6 weeks of the season, the Owls won their games and produced solid stats — skyrocketing hopes of a perfect season. Through their two recent losses, the Owls have slowly revealed those stats might be more circumstantial than consistent. At their two losing games, their stats that were superior to the oppositions, but the Owls failed to translate that into plays, ultimately making it seem like the Owls season was due to a twist of fate. Ultimately, the Owls need to try and regain the brand of football that they played during their early 6 game winning streak.

 

The Corsairs went into the 21st’s matchup against the Foothill Owls most likely seeking to avenge the loss they suffered two weeks ago. Not only did they succeed in doing so, they dominated — beating the Owls 33-7. Secondly, as mentioned in The Script’s preview of the game, the Corsairs were predicted to come out aggressive by running the ball. They did so successfully, running the ball for 63% of their offensive plays and rushing for 129 yards on 47 attempts. Not only that, but both teams needed to prevent the run in order to win, and the Corsairs succeeded in doing so by forcing the Foothill Owls to rely on passing. The Owls rushing only accounted for 40% of their offensive plays, and they ultimately rushed for only 66 yards on 30 attempts. The Corsairs pulled out of this game with a win in a spectacular fashion.