Fontana, Unfazed by Court Scenarios, Rips Fountain Valley, 51-6

A well-chronicled court case, the confusion surrounding its first-round opponent and even some last-minute uncertainty wasn’t enough to distract the Southern Section’s best football team Friday night.

When it came time to play, Fontana High School made Fountain Valley pay, destroying the Barons, 51-6, in the opening round of the Division I playoffs before 7,000 fans.

Fontana waited patiently for a first-round opponent while Huntington Beach played a legal game in an attempt to gain entry into postseason play after forfeiting eight victories for using an ineligible player.

Fontana spent two days practicing in anticipation of meeting Huntington Beach and two days preparing for Fountain Valley. It really didn’t seem to matter much as the Steelers scored on eight of nine possessions and rolled to their 11th consecutive victory.

Fontana averaged 15.5 yards per carry through three and a half quarters of play before Coach Dick Bruich emptied his bench.

The wipeout continued in the final quarter of play as reserves William Ephraim and Michael May only padded Fontana’s imposing yardage total of 412 yards rushing with touchdown runs of 25 and 26 yards, respectively.

When it was over, Fontana had rushed for touchdowns of 48, 47, 39, 26, 25, 25 and 20 yards. Wingback Kenneth Cannon led the onslaught with 139 yards in only five carries for a 27.9-yard average.

“We played with them for the first quarter, and then big plays hurt us, just as they have all season,” said Mike Milner, Fountain Valley coach. “There’s no question in my mind that Fontana will be playing for the championship in Anaheim Stadium in three weeks.

“After this week, I’m sadly glad the season is over. I’m a little despondent at the moment. They did exactly what we expected and we tried to stop them with an eight-man front, but couldn’t.”

Bruich felt totally relieved following a week of uncertainity.

“There is a lot of pressure on us as the No. 1 seed to win it all, and then to have all the problems and distractions this week didn’t help,” he said. “But yes, I’m very happy with the way we played tonight.”

Fontana built a 24-6 lead at halftime, scoring on all four of its possessions. Cannon scored twice on counter plays out of Fontana’s Delaware Wing-T offense. He more than measured up to his pre-game, 13.8 yard-per-carry average with runs of 48 and 39 yards for touchdowns in the second quarter.

Fountain Valley’s game plan was ball control and the Barons (5-6) looked good when they drove 17 plays for a touchdown that took nearly nine minutes. Running back Rob Dubar, injured most of the season, had 76 yards rushing and scored the Barons’ only touchdown on a five-yard run.