The season is off to a solid start for the Fountain Hills High School football team, which played its first game of the season this past Friday, Oct. 2.

The Falcons hosted Chino Valley at the Falcons’ Nest on beat the Cougars by a final score of 28-12.

This week FHHS is on the road to play Florence on Friday, Oct. 9, starting at 7 p.m.

Head coach Jason Henslin said he is happy that his team is starting the season with a win, but he admits that it wasn’t a perfect game.

“It was a game of ups and downs,” Henslin said. “We started out strong and got up to a 14-0 lead. Then, during the second quarter, we definitely let them back into the game. The great thing about the first win is, we got the victory and there were some mistakes and some things as coaches we need to change, but we can fix those and it is easier to do that than if it is after a loss.”

The team did execute on most of its game plan but Henslin said there are still some key areas where the Falcons need to improve their game.

“The plan going into the game was to spread the ball around on offense and try to get as many guys as possible the ball,” Henslin said. “We did a good job; three different receivers caught touchdown passes, but we have to improve our running game and controlling the clock. That was a big issue because Chino had the ball for a lot longer then us.”

Henslin said he was happy with the team’s effort but two Falcons in particular stood out to him.

“Jake Barnard did a great job, he had several nice catches and then a touchdown, but he also had two interceptions on defense,” Henslin said. “Braden Wendt had a great game with several catches and he started the game off recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown.”