Foothill College made their debut in the Bay 6 Conference Saturday, holding on to defeat Laney College 24-19 in a nail-biter win behind strong performances from defense and special teams. 

An extremely formidable opponent, Laney is known nationwide for being featured in Season 5 of Netflix’s Emmy winning docuseries Last Chance U as well as the 2018 State and National Champions.  

Punter Jordan Rucker and the Owls special teams provided an early spark, after his booming kick was fumbled by Laney and recovered by DB Chris Tuiasosopo. Foothill quickly capitalized with QB Jayden Macedo finding WR Brody Simison who made a wild circus catch for a touchdown.

Owls special teams showed up again, pinning Laney within the 5-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. Foothill’s defense then capitalized by forcing a quick 3 and out and giving a golden opportunity to the offense.

QB Jayden Macedo then led the Owls to another touchdown by rolling to his right and once again finding WR Brody Simison in the corner of the endzone.

After a stalled drive to end the 1st quarter, the Owls defense showed extreme resilience by forcing Laney to a missed field goal attempt after a threatening drive. 

The Owls again had trouble putting a drive together, eventually missing a 50-yard field goal attempt. Laney stormed down the field but couldn’t capitalize and settled for a short field goal of their own.

Special teams continued to be the shining force with WR Andre Jackson taking the following kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, electrifying the home crowd.

Laney snuck in another field goal after a big kickoff return of their own, capping off a wild first half and making the score 21-6 in the Owls favor.

After a cagey 3rd quarter with multiple thwarted drives from both sides, Foothill closed the period with a field goal from K Trajan Sinatra. 

Now into the fourth quarter, the Owls allowed Laney to gain some momentum with an Eagle touchdown. It went from bad to worse for the Owls after their next drive stalled and are forced to punt, only for the punt to be blocked allowing Laney to immediately score another touchdown, making the score Owls 24-19 Laney. 

However, the Owls defense got a huge stop on the 2 point conversion, keeping the lead at 5 points and requiring Laney to score another touchdown to take the lead rather than a field goal to tie.

Foothill’s offense had a chance to kill some clock and ice the game with a couple first downs, but they go 3 and out once again and are forced to punt with under 4 minutes to go. 

Laney swiftly stormed down the field, executing a 15 play 75-yard drive starting at their own 20, ultimately coming to 1st and goal on Foothill’s 5-yard line.

But in a show of defensive excellence, the Owls stuff two rush plays on 1st and 2nd down with tackles from LB Faapaia Fualema. Then, dramatically, the Owls pass rush and secondary forced hurried incompletions on 3rd and ultimately 4th down, securing the win for Foothill.

It is clearly not the fashion that the Owls would have preferred to win the game after dominating the first half on both sides of the ball but slowing down offensively in the second. Despite that, their defense and special teams showed again why they are such a key part of Foothill’s success.

Foothill increases their record to 4-1 (1-0 conf.) on the season, starting off this challenging slate of games perfectly and showing that this Bay 6 conference is where the Owls belong.

Foothill will travel north next week to take on College of San Mateo on October 26th at 1pm. Another formidable opponent, CSM are the defending Bay 6 Champions as well as the 2022 National Champions.