HUNTINGTON BEACH – Fountain Valley started the season 0-2, but the Barons will take some serious momentum into Sunset League play next week.
Fountain Valley won its third straight Friday night with a diverse 38-18 decision over San Diego Mira Mesa at Huntington Beach High. Barons quarterback Chad Olberding had another nice night running and passing, the running game has improved and the defense came up with some big plays against an opponent with plenty of skill players.
Olberding completed 5 of 10 passes for 128 yards and had 75 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Barons improved to 3-2. Jacob Garrett had two receptions for 103 yards and George Sykes ran for 69 yards.
“We had a good mindset going into the game,” Barons coach Ray Fenton said. “We sort of had the same mistakes tonight that we did in our second loss but this time we were able to overcome them.
“`We had a lot of big third-down plays tonight, and Mira Mesa was 4-1, ranked in its division and has a couple of really good skill players.”
The touchdown which put Fountain Valley over the top came at the end of the first half. Leading 17-12 with 1:46 left, Olberding drove the team 61 yards in six plays and 1:27 to make it a 24-12 game.
Olberding had two great plays on the drive. The first was a trick play – he went in motion before the direct snap to running back Sykes, then took a pitch and changed directions for a 26-game gain.
Facing a fourth-and-seven at the 30, Olberding made a nice read of the Mira Mesa pass rush and took off, making a nice cut at the 15 to get in for the score.
“It was supposed to be a quick pass, but I saw their defensive line collapse and I took off,’’ he said.
Fountain Valley took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard Olberding run after a shanked Mira Mesa punt set the Barons up at the 14.
Trae Davis scored on a 72-yard kickoff return for the Barons.
Contact the writer: bkeisser@ocregister.com
