PREP FOOTBALL : Sunset League : Fountain Valley Turns Into a Contender : After Poor Start, the Barons Bounce Back and Beat Huntington Beach

When Fountain Valley High School finished its nonleague schedule with an 0-5 record, there were many questions concerning how the Barons would fare in the Sunset League.

Two weeks into league play, there are a fewer questions as the Barons (2-0, 2-5) are tied with Marina for first place after shutting down Huntington Beach 17-7 Friday night at Huntington Beach’s Sheue Field.

A 17-point second-half blitz by Fountain Valley was more than enough for the Baron defense, considering the error-filled performance by the Oilers (0-2, 2-5).

Huntington Beach accumulated 183 yards in penalties, including 74 in the first quarter. The Oilers even faced a third-and-60 situation in the first quarter after three straight penalties.

Many of the penalties came on personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct calls. A similar scene took place last week when the Oilers lost to Westminster. Westminster Coach Jim O’ Hara accused Huntington Beach of playing “flagrantly dirty.”

“The game got out of hand, but that’s their (Huntington Beach’s) problem,” said Mike Milner, Fountain Valley coach.

Despite the penalties, Huntington Beach took a 7-0 lead after wide receiver Pat Brunson caught a Sean Picquelle pass between two Fountain Valley defenders, broke two tackles and ran 53-yards for a touchdown.

Fountain Valley tied the score when Trevor Morales recovered a Skip Murray fumble at the five-yard line. On the next play, running back Ray Luckey ran untouched into the end zone.

The Barons took the lead on their next possession, covering 80 yards in 13 plays with Luckey again scoring on two-yard run. Sophomore quarterback David Henigan threw two consecutive passes to running back Derek Tuescher to keep the drive going.

Just before the half ended, the Baron defense forced another turnover as Rob Brigg’s intercepted a Picquelle pass at the 25-yard line. Stephen Reynolds kicked a 35-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

“This was a pivotal game for us,” Milner said. “We thought we might have some problems with the Huntington Beach line, but it didn’t affect us.”

Milner said Fountain Valley has forgotten the difficult nonleague schedule, when the Barons lost to the likes of El Toro, Mission Viejo, Servite and Long Beach Poly.

“We’re very pleased at this point,” Milner said.

Henigan had another solid if unspectacular showing, completing 7 of 11 passes for 94 yards. Luckey was the game’s leading rusher with 75 yards in 19 carries, and Tuescher added 39 yards in 8 carries.

Huntington Beach had 49 yards rushing, and Picquelle and Brett Brumett combined for 106 yards passing and threw two interceptions.