Foothill’s Late Score Extends Marina’s Losing Streak

Foothill High School needed a last-minute touchdown Friday night to avoid becoming the first team to lose to Marina since 1987. With 36 seconds remaining, Foothill running back Sean Saunders ran for a 14-yard touchdown that when combined with the extra point, gave the Knights a 10-9 victory at Westminster Stadium.

“They gave us more than we could handle,” Foothill Coach Marty McWhinney said.

Well, almost.

Saunders’ touchdown finished an 80-yard drive for Foothill (2-1) and extended Marina’s three-season losing streak to 18 games, the longest in Orange County.

The Knights’ victory didn’t come easily. Marina (0-3) led 3-0 after the first half, two quarters in which the teams managed only three first downs between them. Punts were far more prevalent as neither defense was giving up much of anything.

Foothill finally scored in the third quarter, tying the game when Kent Donnelly kicked a 28-yard field goal. The field goal was set up by an interception by Foothill’s 6-foot-7, 230-pound linebacker, Jamal Duff, who tipped a Viking pass and caught it at the Vikings’ 40.

Marina’s Cristin McLemore returned the kickoff that followed 30 yards to the Vikings’ 45, and a 10-play touchdown drive ensued. Quarterback David Schultz finished it off, diving the last yard as the third quarter ended. But the extra point attempt failed, setting up Foothill’s fourth quarter comeback.