Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003 | 10:33 a.m.
Prep football previews
Monday: Year of the QB -- Las Vegas bucks its history with three top prospects at the position.
Today: Foothill builds from the bottom to become a perennial contender, plus Sunrise Region preview with capsules and predictions.
Wednesday: Sunset Region preview with capsules and predictions.
Thursday: Independent schools preview, including newcomers Liberty and Shadow Ridge, with capsules.
Predicted order of finish
The past is behind Ray Fenton -- literally.
The stadium bleachers at Foothill High School swallow the Falcons' head coach into the background, much the same way that bellowing fans occupying them during Fenton's winless opening season wanted to devour him.
"They were up there with the lynch mob every Friday," Fenton said, adding that some people even wanted to fight him.
Almost five years later, Fenton prefers to focus on what is in front of him at Monday's practice -- a strong program built on organization and discipline that is earning a tenured spot among the Valley's prep football elite. Between poverty and prosperity has been a long road filled with 10-hour weekend days, summer weight room sessions and plenty of detractors.
"People said Foothill High School would never win," Fenton said. "That's what people told me when I took this job."
Fenton could hardly doubt them, though, when just six players showed up for the school's first spring practice in 1999.
"We were not very good, and that's putting it politely," Fenton said.
The Falcons did win, though, and they did it quickly. Enigmatic running back John Ford spurred the Falcons to the 4A state semifinals two years ago, where only a last-second field goal by McQueen on a snow-covered field kept them from the title game. Last season, Foothill narrowly lost to state finalist Desert Pines in the Sunrise semifinals after winning the Southeast Division.
Foothill, along with Desert Pines and Centennial, reaped the benefits of its first-ever incoming class maturing into senior leaders last year. Fronted by an experienced group of seniors, Foothill appears ready surpass the success of last year's core crew that laid the foundation of the program.
"Since we made it so far in past years, our expectations are farther than they were (our) first year," Foothill senior tailback John Crowley said.
Under control
Certain things are understood in a Foothill practice.
Your helmet never comes off. You do not dream of moving at less than a run on the field. You do not step on the chalk when you line up after your water break. And the list goes on.
"You do the little things and the little things build up to big things," Foothill senior quarterback Mickey Beljin said. "That's how you win games."
They see the end to their means and the Falcons do not mind the precision demanded of them. Actually, it is the players themselves who watch over those demands under Fenton's system.
Borrowed from the University of Nebraska's Football Unity Council concept, Fenton allows his players to police themselves through a "Tribal Council" chosen by the team. The 11-man unit is comprised of team captains, seniors and a pair of select juniors.
The players hand out justice ranging from wind sprints to dismissal from the team for any number of offenses thought to be detrimental. Skipped a class? Missed a practice? Expect the council to act swiftly.
"We make or break pretty much all the decisions on the team," Foothill senior defensive end Mike Roland said. "The decisions we make I'm sure are the same decisions (Fenton) would make."
Players are taking ownership of the council and of the team through the system, Fenton feels.
"They know more than I do, more than you do, more than the parents do about what's going on inside," Fenton said.
There is no shortage of guidance from Fenton and his staff, though. The coach credits his staff's loyalty and commitment through the difficult first two years as the biggest reasons for Foothill's quick success. In turn, the players respect the coaches.
"He molds great kids," Roland said of Fenton. "We come in here like little punks."
Jims and Joes
Fenton is certainly proud of the program he is crafting, but he does not turn a blind eye to the luck of the geographical draw that helps build teams. Without athletes, coaching means little.
"It's not 'X's and O's,' it's Jims and Joes," Fenton said.
Desert Pines and Centennial were built in areas likely to draw good talent, but Foothill was not initially viewed as the same type of breeding ground. People told Fenton when he signed on at Foothill that a group of kids coming from Basic might not be championship caliber. The Wolves had not enjoyed much success since Green Valley opened in 1993 and began to erode its talent base.
"We really had second-chance kids who wanted or needed a chance," Fenton said, adding that most of Foothill's first students had the option to stay at Basic.
The school is producing its share of top talent, however. Last year, defensive end Jeff Van Orsow earned a scholarship to Oregon State and wideout Nate Wederquist hooked on at UNLV, while linebacker Niko Saipele went to Northern Arizona.
This year, it is Roland attracting the bulk of college attention from major West Coast schools. Next year, who knows what player it might be, but Foothill now expects that it will probably be someone. It's not too shabby for a program built on a half-dozen players a half-decade ago.
archive
