PREP EXTRA / ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : Barons Stay Cool in Bumping Off Santa Margarita : Football: Alvarez’s 16-yard run and the extra point late in the fourth quarter give No. 9 Fountain Valley a 28-27 victory over No. 4 Eagles.

No one panicked. Not when the lead increased, not after the potential morale-busting interception.

Nervous tension. Heck, that was on the other sideline. Fountain Valley High stayed clear of such thoughts Friday night, or so the Barons’ players said.

The thing is, who can prove otherwise? Fountain Valley played it cool, making key plays in the clutch during its 28-27 victory over Santa Margarita Friday in a nonleague game before 3,500 at Huntington Beach High.

“I always knew we’d win,” said running back Robert Alvarez, who scored the tying touchdown with 4 minutes 26 seconds left to play. “We’re a good second-half team and I knew they couldn’t stop us.”

Alvarez, seemingly one step away from several game-breaking runs, rushed for a game-high 136 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries. His last touchdown, a 16-yard run, tied the score at 27-27. Nathan Hanson’s point-after kick enabled the Barons (4-1), ranked ninth in the county sportswriters’ poll, to rally past the Eagles (4-1), who were ranked fourth.

Engulfed by several Santa Margarita defenders and about to be pummeled, quarterback Mitch Ryerson released a pass as he was hit. Eagle defensive end Matt Baier completed Ryerson’s mistake, taking the interception 14 yards to the end zone and putting Santa Margarita ahead again, 27-21. The Barons, however, did catch a break when Jeff Zaist’s point-after went wide right--keeping the door ajar for Fountain Valley.

Ryerson completed 21 of 44 passes for 254 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Fountain Valley had one possession in the third quarter--and made it count. Ryerson, rebounding from a shaky first half, directed an impressive, time-consuming 84-yard touchdown drive that helped the Barons tie the score at 21-21. Ryerson teamed with receiver Joey Vazquez on the drive’s 14th play, a three-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone.

Santa Margarita was unable to move the ball in its two third-quarter possessions. Chris Collins completed one pass in 11 third-quarter attempts, finishing with 14 completions in 31 attempts for 191 yards.

Both teams looked sharp in the beginning. Fountain Valley, powered by the shifty running of Alvarez, scored touchdowns on its first two possessions. But it was Santa Margarita that held the halftime lead, 21-14.

Santa Margarita’s offense produced two touchdowns in the second quarter on a 10-yard touchdown run by running back Damien Minna and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Gregg Pichler. The defense made it count, shutting down the Barons after they scored touchdowns in their first two possessions.

Alvarez’s strong return of the opening kickoff put the Barons at the Eagles’ 45-yard line. He reached the end zone two plays later, darting and squirming through the Eagles’ defense for a 35-yard touchdown run. Hanson’s point-after gave the Barons a 7-0 lead.