Fountain Valley’s Rally Stuns El Modena, 22-21

Fountain Valley High School played a miserable first half Thursday. The Barons’ third quarter was nothing to brag about either.

But, oh, that fourth quarter.

The Barons scored two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to beat El Modena, 22-21, in a nonleague game in front of 1,000 at El Modena.

El Modena was still in control of the game late in the fourth quarter, leading, 21-14. However, Fountain Valley’s Chris Clark recovered a fumble by Tom Mazzone to give the Barons one last chance.

Quarterback Willy Puga, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 281 yards, drove the Barons 61 yards in the final 2 minutes 50 seconds. He connected with Doug Weaver six times on the drive, including a three-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 left.

Weaver, who had 14 receptions for 199 yards, then caught a two-point conversion pass to give the Barons a 22-21 lead.

Fountain Valley (2-2) trailed, 21-0, midway through the third quarter before finding its offense. True, that offense consisted mainly of Puga and Weaver. But that was just enough.

Puga, who had been harassed most of the evening by El Modena’s defense, found his touch in the fourth quarter. He completed 12 of his last 13 passes for 152 yards.

Puga, who threw three interceptions, and Weaver hooked up for a 20 yards touchdown late in the third quarter. Sean Mahoney’s two-point conversion cut the El Modena lead to 21-8.

El Modena (1-3) had Fountain Valley faced a fourth-and-14 situation on its 34 with seven minutes to play.

But Puga found Weaver crossing over the middle at midfield. Weaver cut upfield, knifing between two defensive backs, for a 66-yard touchdown.

The Vanguards built their lead mainly through the efforts of quarterback Adam Garcia. He rushed for 141 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run. Garcia also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ron Murietta.