Ragland wakes up No. 4 Fountain Valley

HUNTINGTON BEACH — After rolling through most of its previous contests, Fountain Valley found itself in unknown territory Friday night, as the Barons offense had trouble moving the ball in the first half.

"I told them at the half if they wanted to be champions it was time that they started playing like champions," Barons coach John Shipp said.

Quarterback Dominic Ragland responded to the challenge, accounting for 269 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, guiding No. 4 Fountain Valley past Esperanza, 31-14, in a Sunset League game at Huntington Beach High.

"Dominic is a playmaker," said Shipp. "Teams are going to load the box in the future, and he is going to have to continue to make plays with his arm and his feet like he did tonight."

The Barons (7-0, 2-0) were held scoreless in the first quarter, making it the first time all season their offense failed to produce any points in a quarter.

"We were jittery in that first half and were shooting ourselves in the feet," Ragland said.

Kyle Middlebrooks’ 81-yard TD run was the lone highlight for the Barons’ offense in the first half.

The run came with 1:21 left in the second quarter and accounted for over half of the Barons offense.

Fountain Valley took a 10-7 lead into the break before Ragland and company found their groove.

The senior QB guided the offense 83 yards in four plays to open the third quarter, completing all three of his pass attempts on the drive.

Ragland capped the drive with a 18-yard TD strike to Middlebrooks to make the score 17-7.

"The way he was throwing the ball and running around the field, that’s what a quarterback is supposed to look like," said Middlebrooks, who added another TD run in the third to extend the lead to 24-7.

Ragland was 9 of 10 for 179 yards in the second half, and ran for 90 yards and a fourth quarter score for the Barons first victory over the Aztecs (3-4, 0-2) in five years.