Fountain Valley Stays on Ground in 28-0 Victory

Fountain Valley, a team with one of Orange County’s most prolific passing offenses, let it be known Friday night that it can also get things done on the ground in a 28-0 Sunset League victory over Servite at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.

Entering the game, Fountain Valley quarterback Scott Bertoni had passed for 750 yards, more than all but four others in the county and Friday he had another solid performance, completing 14 of 22 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

But running backs Jerry Nicholson and Chuck Harcar did most of the damage as the Barons (5-0, 2-0 in league) easily handled the Friars (1-4, 0-2). Nicholson rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns and Harcar rushed for 77 yards and caught Bertoni’s touchdown pass.

Fountain Valley Coach George Berg said the Barons’ success on the ground was no surprise.

“I think we have some fine athletes who can run the ball as well as throw it and catch it,” Berg said. “They’re good high school running backs. They can run over you, they have good speed and they complement our offensive line.”

That offensive line, which averages nearly 230 pounds, opened gaping holes for the backs to run through and gave Bertoni more than enough time to shred the Friars’ secondary.

From the beginning, it appeared it would a game the Barons would dominate.

They scored with ease on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. Meanwhile, Servite couldn’t get anything going in the first half, managing only two field-goal attempts by Jason Traut, one that missed badly from 47 yards and one that split the uprights from 25 yards seconds after time expired in the second quarter.

The Barons’ first four plays of the game--a seven-yard pass from Bertoni to Brandon Leimbach, Harcar runs of 14 and 20 yards, and a nine-yard Bertoni-to-Leimbach pass--moved them from their 20 to the Servite 30. Seven plays later, Bertoni got off an arching pass just before he was hit in the backfield by Servite’s Matthew Blashaw. Harcar caught it for a touchdown.

Nicholson then completed a 72-yard drive with a 16-yard run on a draw play. A two-point conversion pass from Bertoni to Leimbach made it 14-0.

Fountain Valley scored on its first possession of the second half also, going 80 yards in 10 plays. Nicholson took a handoff on first and goal at the three-yard line and fumbled. The ball squirted into he end zone, where tight end Jeremy Recker fell on it for a touchdown.

Nicholson completed the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter.