THE PREPS : Fountain Valley Blanks Ocean View as Cook Has Another Hot Night

On a night when Fountain Valley High School might have done just fine without the big plays that have become Mike Cook’s specialty, it got plenty of them anyway.

Cook, the 6-foot 5-inch senior who spent much of his career backing up quarterback David Henigan before becoming a receiver, caught 8 passes for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Barons’ 32-0 victory over Ocean View in the Sunset League opener for both teams Thursday night at Huntington Beach High School.

“Cook caught about 4 unbelievable passes,” Fountain Valley Coach Mike Milner said. “That (41-yard touchdown catch) was about the best I’ve seen. He’s definitely a big-play receiver.”

Cook may have been Henigan’s favorite target Thursday, but he wasn’t the only one. On the night, Henigan completed 17 of 26 passes for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception.

The Baron attack was balanced by the running of Kedric Powe, who rushed for 131 yards and 1 touchdown on 19 carries.

Fountain Valley and Ocean View came into this game in similar situations. Both teams had 3-2 records, and both were coming off losses.

But things went Fountain Valley’s way from early on, as the Barons built a 12-0 lead after the first quarter and held a 25-0 lead at halftime.

“They’re very good,” Ocean View Coach Guy Carrozzo said. “I had hoped we could play tough against them. But they did a lot of good things, and we didn’t do much to help ourselves, and that combination leaves you on the bad end of a big score.”

Ocean View’s offense continued to struggle. The Seahawks (3-3) haven’t scored more than 20 points in a game this season, and suffered their third shutout of the year.

Both quarterback Randy Karliner and running back Dean Martinez, the core of the Seahawks’ offense, were ineffective.

Fountain Valley took a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard Derek Mahoney field goal on its first possession, and made it 10-0 after Henigan rolled left on third down at the 8-yard line and hit Doug Weaver in the end zone.

Fountain Valley went ahead, 12-0, on a safety scored when an Ocean View snap at the 12 sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone.

The Barons put the game away in the second quarter on Henigan’s big touchdown passes to Cook, one for 36 yards and another for 41--the second requiring a diving catch. Mahoney’s kick on the second touchdown was no good.

Ocean View’s best scoring chance came late in the half. But after getting a first and goal at the 9, the Seahawks were unable to push the ball across.