One step at a time, Basic back to basics

Adam Candee

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

Football coaches love mottos and motivational words, and Basic's Cliff Frazier is no exception.

One of the Wolves' credos for the 2003 season: We're taking a big step.

"And we took a big step backward last week," Frazier said.

Basic suffered one of the biggest upsets of the year Friday, a 45-35 loss to Silverado that knocked the Wolves (5-1, 0-1) into fourth place in the Southeast Division. A lack of fundamentals and discipline that nagged the Wolves all season finally caught up with them.

Basic continued committing penalties and added in some poor tackling and defensive misalignments to seal its fate against the Skyhawks.

"(We) were shell-shocked after Friday night's game," Frazier said. "We didn't do things right and they did a lot of things right."

"We were just a little too high on the hog. We thought we were better than we are."

Basic hosts rival Foothill (6-0, 1-0) this week, with the inside track to the Southeast crown on the line. The Falcons also struggled with the basics against Centennial last week, but a last-second field goal helped them remain unbeaten by a 13-10 final.

The close call revealed a number of areas -- notably some defensive line technique -- that Foothill needs to improve, said Falcons coach Ray Fenton.

"Little things we'd been getting away from, they were taking advantage of," Fenton said.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for holding a combined 11-1 record while working out the kinks. The Wolves and Falcons are two of the city's best squads and their rivalry has gained intensity with their improvement in recent years.

"This is a huge rivalry," Fenton said. "We split from Basic, so our kids are close friends."

Even with its first loss, Basic remains right in the title hunt. A win against Foothill would put Basic back on track to compete for the division with the Falcons, as well as with upstart Coronado (5-1, 2-0).

"That loss for (Basic) last week is pretty much irrelevant," Fenton said.

Foothill continues to make a living behind its powerful lines, and its running game has prospered behind a pair of backs. After starting the season with senior John Crowley as the lead running back, Fenton began inserting sparkplug freshman DeAngelo Jones in certain situations.

Now, the two work in tandem to give opponents to distinctly different looks. Crowley is the fast back who can accelerate past the defense and Jones is the quick back whose shifty moves make him a beast to defend.

That is a big shift from last year, when the offense revolved around wideout Nate Wederquist. Now, Fenton makes no secret of how Foothill attacks.

"We're going to line up and pound you," Fenton said.

Basic attacks by air, with senior quarterback Chris Montano leading the way. Montano is among the top signal callers in the city and whether or not anything else is going right for Basic, he remains a top threat.

Fenton said that Montano's intelligence and ability jump out on tape and in person.

"Kids that look covered aren't covered," Fenton said of Montano finding receivers.

Basic has a few injured players, Frazier said, including tight end Donnie Eredia, who was lost three weeks ago.