Football
In a battle of first-place teams in the Golden Gate Conference, City College of San Francisco routed Foothill 37-12 last Saturday in Los Altos Hills.
The visiting Rams (2-0 conference, 7-0 overall) racked up 490 yards against the Owls (1-1, 5-2). Quarterback Nick Rolovich did most of the damage, completing 22 of 37 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Halfback Kerenski McGhee added 116 yards and two touchdowns rushing for San Francisco, the top-ranked team in the state.
Eighth-ranked Foothill, which only trailed 13-0 at halftime, was out-scored 17-6 in the third quarter.
Johnnie Gray scored the Owls' first touchdown on a 27-yard run and fellow halfback Peter Harris reached the end zone on a 3-yard dash in the fourth quarter.
Women's Soccer
Foothill upped its division record to 6-5-3 Oct. 26 with a 2-1 home win over Chabot.
The Owls received goals from Jackie Castro and Melissa Biser.
Foothill entered this week in second place in the Coast Conference's North Division.
Volleyball
Owls' women's water polo team hopes to make a splash in playoffs
The seeding meeting for this month's Northern California women's water polo playoffs is set for this weekend, and Foothill College coach Bill Henderson expects his team to be included among the eight invitees.
"It's not absolutely guaranteed, but there's a very strong likelihood we will receive the eighth seed," he said. "It's pretty cut and dry."
Henderson has good reason to like the Owls' chances of earning a postseason bid. Foothill enters this final week of the regular season tied with American River for first place in the lower division of the Coast Conference. The teams split their two games this season, but Henderson said American River likely will end up winning the division title on goal differential.
Henderson anticipates the Owls winning both of this week's games - Tuesday at Cabrillo and Thursday (3 p.m.) at home against Laney - to finish 11-1 in conference. Foothill posted convincing wins against both opponents earlier in the year.
This would put the Owls' overall mark at 15-6, which Henderson said is worthy of the eighth seed based on the records of those teams vying for the playoffs.
If that's the case, the coach expects to meet top seed Sierra in the opening round, set for Nov. 12 in Merced. Sierra is ranked third in the state and last month beat the Owls 13-5 at the River City Tournament.
"Sierra is a very good team and we're definitely a long-shot to beat them, but we're going to go into the game without any preconceived notions," Henderson said. "If they're off their game and we're on ours, you never know what will happen."
Regardless of what happens, the Owls' first-year coach said this season will go down as a success.
"It's been a fun year," he said. "I have a great group of kids who get along well and work hard. It's been a real team effort; everyone's contributing and doing their job."
Henderson expects three of his players to garner all-conference honors: field players Elyssa Xavier and Amie Prichard and goalie Katie Rhynard.
Xavier, who made all-conference a year ago, is the team's leader in steals. Prichard, a Mountain View High graduate, is the Owls' top scorer. Rhynard, second in the state in saves, is not your typical college goalie.
"The girls call her 'Katie Mom.'" Henderson said. "She's 31 years old and has an advanced degree in biology. In high school, she played on the boys team and has always loved the game and stayed with it."
Rhynard, who works in a biology lab, enrolled at Foothill last fall for the chance to play at the college level.
In contrast, the Owls also have a few players who are "babies" when it comes to water polo experience. Laura Thompson, one of the conference's top divers, is playing for the first time. Thompson has picked up the game quickly, Henderson said, and also deserves all-conference consideration.
Two other starters, Brittany Wade and Joanna Zenou, took up water polo last year.
All these players but Thompson competed on last year's Foothill team, which went 12-6 and made the playoffs in just its second year of existence.
Henderson hopes the playoffs become an annual ritual for the Owls.
"This program is going to continue to get better," the coach said. "Our goal is to be one of the five best teams in the state next year."
Ohlone beat Foothill 17-15, 15-5, 15-7 Oct. 27 in Los Altos Hills.
The loss dropped the Owls' conference record to 1-3.