Fontana Lives Up to Billing, Finishes Off San Gorgonio

Before the start of the high school football season, the consensus around Southern California was that Fontana High School had the best Division I team in the Southern Section. Now it’s a fact.

Fontana completed a 14-0 season with a 35-7 victory over Citrus Belt League rival San Gorgonio of San Bernardino Friday night before a crowd of 20,583 at Anaheim Stadium to win its second Division I championship in the past three years.

Fontana won the title in 1987 when it defeated Capistrano Valley, 21-0. Over the past three seasons, the Steelers are 38-2.

“The second one is just as exciting as the first one,” said Dick Bruich, who was drenched by his players after improving his playoff record to 20-11 in 13 years as Fontana’s head coach.

San Gorgonio, which only lost to the Steelers, 30-22, in the regular season, was overpowered by Fontana and running back Samita Vaoifi, who ran for two touchdowns and passed for another.

However, for the second consecutive week, Fontana did not dominate at the start. In its 48-35 victory over Edison of Huntington Beach in last week’s semifinal, the Steelers fell behind by as many as 14 points twice in the first half.

Against San Gorgonio, the Steelers were charitable on the game’s first play when Vaoifi fumbled the opening kickoff on Fontana’s 30-yard line. Eight plays later, Spartan running back Ron Rivers scored from a yard out to give San Gorgonio a 7-0 lead.

Unlike their game against Edison, the Steelers responded quickly with a nine-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, which Vaoifi finished with a 38-yard run.

“Last week (against Edison) was a special game, but that only got us here,” Bruich said. “We had to play this one to win the title.”

With the score tied, 7-7, Fontana’s defense forced the Spartans to punt deep from their territory, setting up the Steelers’ second score.

On a five-play, 30-yard drive, Fontana went to the left arm of Vaoifi, who threw a halfback-option touchdown pass to Ron Austin for a 14-7 halftime lead.

San Gorgonio began the second half with a long drive into Steeler territory. Behind the running of Rivers, who gained 36 yards on the drive, the Spartans had a first down on Fontana’s 30-yard line before quarterback Marcus McMaryion threw an interception to William Ephraim.

After a clipping penalty on Emphraim’s return, Fontana went on a nine-play, 85-yard touchdown drive with the key play being a 52-yard pass from quarterback Nick Bennett to Austin.

The pass caught the Spartans by surprise, as Bennett has averaged less than 40 yards passing per game all season. This would be his only attempt of the game. Wingback Kenneth Cannon completed the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run.

Fontana continued its domination after Cannon’s score by not allowing San Gorgonio beyond midfield the rest of the game. The Steelers pressured McMaryion, who completed only five of 11 passes for 36 yards with two interceptions.

The Steelers extended their lead to 28-7 to begin the fourth quarter when Vaoifi finished off a nine-play, 44-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

“We make it look easy, but every game is tough,” said Vaoifi, who gained 95 yards in 14 carries after his 245-yard performance against Edison.

Fontana’s last score came with 5:24 remaining in the game when fullback Robert Sylvester scored on a three-yard run.

San Gorgonio, which finished 10-4, had only 129 total yards in offense, with Rivers getting 118 of those in 24 carries.