Recap: Foothill Cougars vs. Chico Panthers
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but unfortunately for the Foothill Cougars, they weren't the ones who walked away with it. They took a 28-21 hit to the loss column at the hands of Chico on Friday. Foothill lost against Chico in their previous head to head back in October, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 24-21 score last time.
Foothill's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Christopher Hall, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. Hall was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 50 yards. Matthew Poulsen was another key contributor, rushing for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Dion Coleman got back to being his usual excellent self, as he rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. Another player making a difference was Jaden Neugebauer, who rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.
Foothill's loss was their fourth straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 6-6. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 8-3 Pleasant Valley and 8-4 Shasta (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 80.3% over those games). As for Chico, the win (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 10-1.
Foothill does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Chico will be playing at home against Pleasant Valley at 7:00 p.m. on November 25th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in California (Pleasant Valley is ranked 154th, while Chico is ranked 135th).
