Foothill eyeing return of prized Victory Bell

By Jared Harmon (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 3:28 p.m.

Heather Cory

Foothill’s mascot, the falcon, rings the Victory Bell during the game against Silverado High School on Sept. 20. Silverado won the bell for the first time ever since 2001, winning the game 25-18.

The annual Victory Bell football game between Foothill and Silverado will have a different feel Friday.

For the for time in the eight-year history of this Southeast Division rivalry, the Silverado Skyhawks have possession of the bell after topping Foothill 25-18 last year. It was the Skyhawks' first win against Foothill since the bell was introduced to the rivalry in 2001.

The bell has become a fixture at Silverado home games and is rung by cheerleaders after each score since.

Foothill Falcons senior Jake Broyles said its time for the ringing to end at Silverado. The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. at Silverado.

Broyles, an offensive tackle and defensive end, will be playing in his third bell game. He understands the game's importance and wants to bring the bell back to Foothill in his final year.

"When I was a sophomore, I didn't really know what it was all about. But when I was a junior, I could see how everyone stepped it up and how emotional the game was," Broyles said. "It felt terrible losing that game. We weren't having a good season already and that just made it worse. Getting that bell back and winning our first league game this year means everything to me."

A larger version of the bell was initially donated by the El Rancho Hotel, which had recently closed its doors. The bell, which had hung above the casino, proved too big to transport and a smaller bell was purchased and presented to the winner each year.

Broyles hopes bringing the bell back to Foothill could spark the Falcons (2-4, 0-2 Southeast Division) the rest of the season. .

"The bell means a lot to us because ringing it was a part of our Friday ritual," Broyles said. "We'd ring it after scoring and none of us wants to see it over at Silverado next year."

Foothill coach Marty Redmond said the game tends to bring out intensity in his players.

"If we want to win we're going to have to eliminate mistakes and play smart football," Redmond said. "(Silverado) has a lot of good players so we're going to have to be able to execute. "

Silverado second-year coach Andy Ostolaza didn't know much about the rivalry when he started with the program last year.

That quickly changed.

"Coming into it last year I didn't know anything about it but as it got closer I could hear the kids talking about the bell and winning the bell," Ostolaza said. "I think, because of the proximity of a lot of newer schools, the rivalry has been tough to keep going. But, because of the bell, the game is still pretty big for a lot of the seniors."

Ostolaza said the Skyhawks (4-2, 1-2) defense will have to dig in its heels to keep Foothill quarterback Aaron Dupin and running back Algernon Sewell from finding the end zone.

"I was real happy to be a part of the win last year," Silverado defensive end Keenan Graham said. "It felt good to be a part of school history. We all take pride in having the bell here and we love hearing it when we score. We're going to do our best to keep it here."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or jared.harmon@hbcpub.com.