On Nov. 22, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys’ basketball team faced off against the Channel Islands High School (Channel Islands) Raiders for their home opener. With Foothill Tech’s Spirit Club in the gym, and families, friends, trainers and graduated players showing love for their past team, the bleachers were filled with people.

Channel Islands started off strong by winning the tip and hitting a three pointer to start the game. After a stop on defense, Channel Islands scored again to go up 5-0.

However, after the rough start, Sam Noah ‘23 tied the game with a pair of free throws and an and-one to bring the score to 5-5. 

The back and forth continued to end the quarter, as another bucket and set of free throws from Noah matched two layups from Channel Islands to go into the second quarter tied 9-9.  

Gallery • 2 Photos

Rihanna Samples

Nick Drucker '26 (number 52) dribbles the ball down the court during the second quarter, trying to break Channel Islands' relentless press. He looks up while dribbling in hopes of finding an outlet to pass the ball to, so the Dragons can score.

Starting the first quarter the Dragons looked sharp. Noah sank his first three pointer of the night, and after some great defense another Dragon got involved with the scoring as Luigirey Guce ‘25 got straight to the rim to score a beautiful layup, pushing the Dragons further into the lead at 14-9.

Channel Islands tried to close the gap, but Noah shut the door by knocking down another contested three pointer making it 17-12. 

Nick Drucker ‘26 also got involved for Foothill Tech and got out on a fast break, and two free throws from Daniel Ferrer ‘24 increased the lead to 21-14, the largest of the night.. 

After a couple more scores from Channel Islands, the Dragons took the lead 21-16 as they headed to the locker rooms for halftime. 

The Dragons second half began with Noah hitting one of two free throws, and two field goals from Drucker kept them in the lead as Channel Islands began their second half run.

The final period began with Channel Islands drawing a foul call on a made layup, and after drilling the free throw they took the lead 30-29. 

Aidan Gomez ‘25 answered and made a move to get by a defender to sink an easy mid range jumpshot, but this would end up being the last field goal for the Dragons until the final seconds of the game.

Channel Islands turned up the heat, ultimately out-scoring the Dragons 18-6 in the fourth quarter. A barrage of baskets in transition and on offensive rebounds buried the Dragons, and the deficit was 45-31 before Owen Houston ‘23 hit a layup as time expired to make the final score 45-33.

Despite the result, Drucker was satisfied with his team’s effort, saying, “We played really well, we were really good on defense”. 

The Dragons’ next game will be on Monday, Nov. 28 at Hueneme High School.