This past Saturday, the Foothill Owls traveled to Redding, California to face off against another conference rival: the Shasta Knights. Entering the game, the Owls had already clinched a playoff spot; the Knights had turned their season around after starting 0-3, to win four consecutive games and have a chance to do the same.

With the Knights on a winning streak and the Owls coming off an emotional and stressful win against the Mustangs the previous week, something had to give. From kickoff, spectators witnessed an offensive display from both teams. Both offenses went and forth scoring, eventually scoring 95 points combined.

But eventually, the Owls’ offense derailed. Despite having the opportunity to take the lead when down 38-41 near the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Owls ultimately gave up 16 unanswered points to lose the game 57-38.

The loss meant the Owls were knocked out of first place by Shasta, and are now tied with the Los Medanos Mustangs for second.

Regardless of this’ heartbreaking loss, the Owls still have one more game to play in the playoffs, and are still in a position to be first in their conference, provided the Shasta Knights lose to the Redwood Corsairs next week.

With the Owls’ season coming to an end as they enter their bye week before the playoffs, it would be a fitting time to recap the season and talk about the two major takeaways from the season.

The Owls ended the season with a 7-3 record and a 3-2 record within their own conference. The biggest takeaway is that the Owls’ five-game winning streak was imperative to their current standing.

Another takeaway from the season is the team’s resiliency: after starting the season off hot, they stalled and struggled, losing two games in a row. In spite of this, the Owls continued to fight and eventually came out with a playoff berth. Within each game, there were moments where the team needed to persevere — something accomplished in spectacular style.

It is now the calm before the storm for the Foothill Owls: the playoffs are a new world, and drastically different from the regular season. Everything is played on a razor’s edge, and it is up to the Owls whether their plays go down in history, or live in infamy.