Prep football: A young new coach and a new attitude lifts Foothill past El Camino

Foothill beat El Camino 14-7 Friday night.

It wasn’t a dramatic finish. It was not a Sierra Foothill League showdown. It still meant everything.

As they celebrated the win, Foothill players grabbed a Gatorade bucket and doused head coach Jemel Johnson with ice and water. Johnson teared up as players surrounded him and barked their appreciation for his work. The 24-year-old coach was still emotional in the postgame huddle, talking to a group of kids who went 2-7 last year. He did a call and response with the players.

“We’re not done,” Johnson said. “What do we want?”

“League champs!” players said in unison.

“What do we want?”

“League champs!”

It could happen. The Mustangs play in the Greater Sacramento League, which is not known as a sports powerhouse. El Camino was a nonleague opponent, but the Eagles play in a tougher conference. Plus, the win was Johnson’s first as the head coach. He played at Burbank and bounced around Sacramento-area schools as an assistant before landing at Foothill last year as the JV coach.

His players encouraged him to apply for the varsity role when it opened up. Those tears at the end of the game were because of his pride in the guys who had faith in him, Johnson said.

“We’ve been through a lot, a lot of ups and downs to where I felt like it was time for the chain to break,” Johnson said. “I’ve been telling my boys since the very first day I stepped foot on this campus, we got the skills, we got the talent, we got the potential. Now let’s just break that mentality, the losing mentality, the being uncoachable, the undisciplined and let’s switch it around.”

Both teams showed resilience Friday that might have been unusual in other seasons. El Camino trailed 6-0 for three quarters before running back Abdul-Rashid Tanko Jr. hauled in a nifty inside screen pass and ran untouched for 42 yards with 5:23 left in the game. Kicker Ethan Hallstrom rocketed the point-after attempt through the goalposts for a 7-6 lead.

Trailing, Foothill turned to quarterback Xiavior Smith. He’d had a rough second half, completing just 2 of 9 attempts before the final drive. But he sparkled on the last possession. Facing second and 14 at his own 26, Smith hit receiver Tyreece Bramwell on a curl. Bramwell beat his defender and nearly went all the way for a touchdown. He was hauled down from behind by Frank Leilua, a 320-pound lineman who has college football potential.

Bramwell made it to the El Camino 35. It took five more plays to set up Smith’s final pass, a toss to the goal line that Michael Watts Jr. hauled in after it bounced off defenders’ fingertips. Then the Foothill defense, which was stellar all night, stood El Camino up on its first four plays to effectively end the game.

After the win, standing at midfield, Smith’s dad proudly took video while the quarterback was interviewed. This is all new to Foothill, winning games and getting media attention, but Smith handled it all like he’d been there before.

“We came into the season ready, prepared,” he said. “We’re not trying for anything less but league champs, and this was probably our highest competition game out of our league, so we really wanted to win this.”

Of course, Foothill’s elation was El Camino’s deflation.

Coaches encouraged players to keep their heads up. The Eagles never shut down, like high school teams sometimes do. The defense was impressive throughout the game, with senior linebacker Gavin Taylor making a living in the Foothill backfield, getting tackles for loss. And the effort of Leilua, a two-way lineman who ran down the Foothill wide receiver, did not go unnoticed. “Big Frank” has been a four-year starter for the Eagles who stuck out the pandemic and opportunities to play elsewhere. Coach J.P. Dolliver was down after the loss but clearly reveled in the chance to talk up Big Frank.

“I think he’s gotten overlooked by some of the other big names in the area,” Dolliver said. “The kid is a beast in the weight room. He’s a great kid. He’s a good kid in the classroom. … And he hustles man, he has his heart. I know he’s gonna play on Saturdays somewhere. I just want someone to figure that out.”

Dolliver also highlighted the effort of Tanko, a running back who does a little bit of everything for the Eagles. El Camino was without some key talent Friday night but Tanko took a star turn in the backfield. He had 15 rushes for 75 yards at halftime, then added nine more runs for a total of 121 yards. El Camino had a pair of drives stall out in the Foothill red zone, including one at the 3-yard line. It was a bitter loss but the Eagles are 2-1 and Dolliver says they could be 4-1 by the time league play starts.

“We have to regroup. We have to take our practice very serious this week, knowing that we have a hard game on Friday. And then we have a bye. A lot of work to do,” Dolliver said.

At 1-1, the Mustangs were still savoring their win as they walked to the locker room. League champs? This team? This school? Friday’s win showed it’s not just hype.

“It means it was a lot because Foothill’s been losing for the past couple years,” Smith, the quarterback, said. “And we’re ready to be league champs.”