There's something special about a matchup of high school quarterbacks bound for major colleges and that's primarily why ESPNU put Friday's matchup between host Monte Vista of Danville and Foothill of Pleasanton as its Old Spice High School Showcase game of the week.

Sure, if the ESPNU prep telecast schedule was like college and which games to put on the air could be decided a week before, it's not as if a contest between two teams that were each on two-game losing streaks would have been high on anyone's list. 

These games, though, have to be finalized by the middle of August and the biggest fear for ESPNU and Paragon Marketing of Chicago (which co-produces the games) is not whether teams in an October 23 game are winning or losing. No, the biggest fear is an injury to a featured player and it was good news indeed for ESPNU that both Foothill quarterback Sean Mannion and Monte Vista gunslinger Brett Nottingham were healthy and primed to showcase their skills on a national TV network.

 

Both quarterbacks were not perfect and each threw a pair of interceptions. It's just that the two thrown by Nottingham were more costly and that also was the difference in Foothill posting a 41-37 victory.

The victory raised Foothill's record to 5-2 overall and comes after back-to-back losses to Granada of Livermore and California of San Ramon. 

"It was a great game against a great team," said Mannion, who has committed to Oregon State. "It's always so tough to beat them."

He added, "Brett will do great at the next level and I wish nothing but the best for him. There were a lot of great plays tonight on both sides and our offensive line was just outstanding. They only sacked me one time."

Mannion's most impressive work came in his team's last drive. The Falcons started it with just over two minutes left after they fell behind 37-34. Mannion moved the team 80 yards by completing five of seven passes. With 50 seconds left, he found Garrett Moore over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown pass that gave Foothill a 41-37 lead.

In a game like this, of course, 50 seconds is nothing. Nottingham did get one first down for the Mustangs, but with 22 seconds left on a first-and-10 pass from his own 30-yard line, Foothill's Jake Bussani sealed the victory by coming up with an interception.

Mannion ended with 26 completions in 48 attempts for 387 yards and four touchdowns. His top target was Cameron Rowland, who had seven catches for 109 yards.

Nottingham's first pass of the night was intercepted as well. That one, though, was brought back for a 20-yard touchdown by senior linebacker Jake Rubinson. 

The UCLA-bound standout bounced back to have a strong outing. He completed 28 of 45 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns. He nearly had a fourth, but his 49-yard strike to junior Bryce McGovern was ruled out of bounds at the one-yard line. The long play, however, set up a one-yard plunge by Cal-bound linebacker-fullback Dave Wilkerson with 2:19 left that gave the Mustangs a short-lived lead.

In addition to Nottingham's huge totals, McGovern also had a big night with 12 catches for 239 yards.

The Mustangs fell to 4-3 after a 4-0 start. If not for a few plays here and there, though, they could conceivably be 7-0. Instead, head coach Craig Bergman was left to shake his head after another difficult loss.

"Oh yeah, it was one of those games where just a play or two was the difference, but our defense just didn't rise to the challenge on that last drive," said Bergman, whose team's losses in its streak have been to state-ranked De La Salle of Concord (28-21) and Amador Valley of Pleasanton (24-21 in overtime). "I'm happy the way the kids battled back from a 21-3 deficit. But we're still a very young team and are making too many mistakes."

Foothill still has to play De La Salle and Amador Valley in the East Bay Athletic League while Monte Vista still has California of San Ramon on its schedule.

Even with quarterbacks like Mannion and Nottingham, there's a chance that neither team will qualify for the CIF North Coast Section playoffs. Still, it was a blast watching the two of them go at it for one night, no matter how the team implications end up.

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