SUNSET LEAGUE : Fountain Valley, Marina All Even

Their previous games this season hinted at a close matchup, and Fountain Valley and Marina pushed that idea to the max Thursday night.

The Barons and Vikings tied, 14-14, in front of a Marina homecoming crowd of 3,300 at Westminster High to remain deadlocked in second place in the Sunset League.

Fountain Valley and Marina, owners of identical records--4-3-1, 3-1-1 in league--moved ahead of Huntington Beach by a half game. The Oilers face undefeated league leader Servite tonight at Cal State Fullerton.

Both teams had opportunities to win in the second half but botched them.

With 4 minutes 14 seconds to play in the third quarter, Fountain Valley had a second and four at the Marina 22, but tailback Chuck Hartar fumbled after picking up eight yards on the play, and Viking cornerback Chris Yakura recovered.

Another Fountain Valley fumble, this one by tailback Jeremy Nicholson and recovered by Marina defensive end Ryan Cox, gave the Vikings a first and 10 at the Fountain Valley 30 with 9:05 remaining.

A 13-yard run by fullback John Marvos on first down, an eight-yard pass from quarterback Travis Anderson to wide receiver Alex Lopez and a two-yard plunge by Marvos gave Marina a fourth and one at the Baron seven. But the Fountain Valley defense stopped Marvos at the line on the next play.

Marina opened the scoring with 9:54 to play in the first quarter when Anderson and wide receiver Danny DeLucca connected on a 27-yard pass play. The five-play drive was set up when Marina opened with an onside kick, and Viking safety Tim Donegan recovered at the Fountain Valley 42.

The Barons tied it in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Nicholson, and Marina took a 14-7 lead on its first possession of the third quarter on a 12-yard run by Anderson. Fountain Valley then launched a 12-play, 67-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Scott Bertoni to wide receiver Bryan Gail with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

Bertoni completed 11 of 23 passes for 177 yards, and Anderson was seven for 20 for 118 yards. Marvos led all rushers with 106 yards in 13 carries, including a 57-yard run in the third quarter. Gail caught six passes for a game-high 102 yards.