Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

kickoff 2014:

Behind a strong group of linebackers, Foothill confident heading into new season

2014 High School Football

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

From left, Foothill High School football players Corey Fisher, Sam Martin and Aedan Bartolowits July 21, 2014.

Foothill High School 2014 football preview

Las Vegas Sun sports editor Ray Brewer talks to Foothill High School's football coach and key players ahead of their 2014 season.

Prep Sports Now

The season begins

Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer try to contain their excitement for the start of the football season enough to get through the first slate of games. They also discuss the two defending state champions, Bishop Gorman and Faith Lutheran.

The Foothill HIgh football team has had one of the area’s top passing attacks in recent seasons.

This year, the Falcons might have one of its best running games.

Foothill returns four starters on the offensive line and has a quality group of running backs, potentially setting the table for successes on the ground.

Sam Martin, a three-year starter, will anchor the offensive line, and senior Bobby Merritt is one of a handful of capable running backs.

“Our offensive line is much improved over the past couple of years,” Foothill coach Marty Redmond said. “We are looking forward to being able to run the ball better than the past. …We are pretty excited about being able to run the ball a little bit.”

Added Martin, “We have some really good (linemen). If we work together as a unit, we’ll be able to score.”

Defensively, Foothill’s linebackers are some of the best in the Sunrise Region.

Josh Ozuna had 48 tackles last season, including 13 for a loss, and Josh Hughes finished with 55 tackles. Te’Vion Reed has the potential to be explosive off the edge in rushing the quarterback.

“Our linebacker core is the strength of our defense,” Redmond said.

In the secondary, Cory Fisher and Aedan Bartolowits have top-end speed as the last line of defense. Fisher is also the Foothill kicker and punter, being named to the Sun’s preseason all-city team for his role in the kicking game.

“Everything has come together a lot more,” Bartolowits said of the defense.

Foothill finished with a 5-5 record last season and lost in the Sunrise Regional quarterfinals. Redmond says this year’s team has that something special to make a deeper playoff run.

“This group is a hard-working team,” the coach said. "They are a pleasure to be around. You can see the progress every time we work with these guys.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy