WESTMINSTER – A year ago, Fountain Valley was denied a playoff spot on a last-second touchdown in its final game. The math was simpler for the Barons this time, since they did not need to find out if, but rather where, they would slot into the playoff picture.
Fountain Valley locked up the Sunset League’s second seed with a 37-22 victory over Huntington Beach on Friday night at Westminster High.
Quarterback Chad Olberding had 230 total yards (126 rushing) to lead the Barons (7-3, 4-1). Kent Swift added two rushing touchdowns, and Josh Tellez had a 47-yard interception return for a score.
“We’ve had a lot of success this season that we’re really proud of,” Olberding said. “We’re going to take it into the playoffs and show them what we’ve got.”
Coach Ray Fenton’s team is headed back to the playoffs for the second time in three years. Fountain Valley started Sunset League play 3-0, including a signature win over Los Alamitos.
“We scheduled a pretty good preseason,” Fenton said. “We continued to get better throughout the preseason. By the time the regular season rolled around, we were ready to play.”
The Barons jumped out to a big lead after Angel Hernandez hauled in a 12-yard pass from Olberding to make it 16-0 in the first quarter.
Huntington Beach running back Hunter Simmons had a 3-yard rushing score to end Fountain Valley’s run, but rushing touchdowns by Olberding and Swift made it 30-7 at the half.
Senior quarterback Mikey Veyette showed flashes of brilliance for the Oilers (3-7, 1-4) in the second half. He found Jake Adams on a 60-yard touchdown to start the third. Later, he had runs of 43 and 59 yards.
