ORANGE – When it seemed like defenses need not apply between Foothill and Orange on Thursday, it was the Knights that made the key stops and answered with big plays.

Foothill quarterback Gino Marchetti accounted for seven total touchdowns, three with his arm and another four with his legs, as the Knights outpaced Orange 55-35 at El Modena High.

“Kids had a good week of practice,” Foothill coach Doug Case said. “It was the short week, and it was probably beneficial for us (after losing to Tustin 42-24 last week). We needed to get right back in the saddle and executing again… We have to shore some stuff up still, but it’s game three. Kids hung in there, and I’m proud of them.”

Foothill (2-1) goes on the road to play Troy on Friday, Sept. 13. Orange (0-3) is at La Habra.

Marchetti paced a potent Foothill attack from the game’s opening drive, where he opened the scoring with a 27-yard, highlight-reel scamper. Marchetti was flushed right from the pocket, and the 6-foot-6 senior danced down the sideline, around and through Orange defenders for the score.

Marchetti completed 12 of 16 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns – 43 yards to senior Jesus Martinez, 47 yards to senior Mike Galey and 53 yards to junior Luke Smith – and carried the ball 10 times for 73 yards and four touchdown runs, including three quarterback sneaks.

“He’s maturing every week. He had eight reps last year as a junior,” Case said. “The game is slowing down for him. He’s figuring out where I’m trying to place the ball. He really did a great job running the ball.”

Foothill QB Gino Marchetti threw for 3 TDs and ran for 4TDs, as the Knights (2-1) bounced back in a 55-35 road win over Orange (0-3).

The 6-foot-6 senior signal-caller completed 12 of 16 passes for 221 yards and ran for 73 yards. @ocvarsity @GoFoothill @GinoMarchetti19 pic.twitter.com/41LHCfn44c

— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) September 6, 2024

Foothill senior running back Nathan Gouvion also carried the ball 23 times for 113 yards.

On the other side, Orange freshman quarterback Star Thomas kept up his high volume of work, completing 23 of 39 pass attempts for 336 yards and three touchdown passes and one interception. Gianni Porfilio caught seven passes for 167 yards and all three touchdown receptions.

Foothill led by 21 points at halftime, 35-14, but Orange came out swinging in the second half.

The Panthers opened with a 14-yard touchdown run by Jordan Hardaway, a fourth-down stop of Foothill and a 64-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Porfilio to cut the lead to 35-28.

However, Foothill locked in, and three plays later, Marchetti hit a wide-open Galey for the 47-yard touchdown and the two-score lead.

Foothill junior Andrew Arrazola stepped up for an interception on the next Orange possession, and Marchetti topped off the ensuing drive by bouncing off the goal-line pile for a 2-yard sneak touchdown and a 20-point lead, 48-28.

TOUCHDOWN: Foothill pushing back out again.

After an interception of Orange, Knights take advantage of the short field. Marchetti bounces off the pile for his third TD run of the game.

Foothill 48, Orange 28 – 3:15 3Q @ocvarsity @GoFoothill pic.twitter.com/nCT9oQXdyl

— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) September 6, 2024

Orange and Foothill traded fourth-quarter scores, including a 23-yard showcase throw from Thomas to Porfilio for the Panthers and a 1-yard extension over the pile by Marchetti for Foothill.

The game began fast and furious as both teams scored on the first five combined drives of the game with Foothill opening up a 21-14 lead. Orange converted three fourth-down attempts on its opening two drives.

After grabbing the lead again, Foothill came up with the game’s first defensive stops to begin pulling away.

Orange was finally stopped on fourth down at midfield, and Foothill engineered a 10-play scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak by Marchetti, 28-14.

Orange’s next drive went backwards, and as the Panthers punted from their own end zone, Preston Smith snagged the shanked kick in stride to waltz in for a 17-yard punt return touchdown and a 21-point lead going into halftime, 35-14.

During Foothill’s previous scoring drive, a member of the officiating crew was taken to the sidelines for heat exhaustion and attended to by the Orange training staff. After lying on the ground for several minutes, an ambulance and paramedics arrived to take him off for further care before halftime.

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