Esperanza Beats Fountain Valley in Final Seconds

Esperanza drove 62 yards with no timeouts and scored the winning touchdown with 10 seconds left as the Aztecs beat Fountain Valley, 21-20, in a Sunset League game Friday at Orange Coast College.

Esperanza quarterback Greg Farrell completed four of five passes on the final drive, including a 16-yarder to Ryan Murray in the corner of the end zone for the game winner with 10 seconds left.

“I knew where my No. 1 receiver was,” said Farrell who was 14 of 18 for 205 yards. “I knew if I gave him a chance he could get it.”

Murray, who caught seven passes for 105 yards, got a couple of steps into the end zone then stopped to go up for the ball as the defenders went by.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” Murray said, “I saw the ball that’s for sure. That’s all I saw.”

Esperanza’s Ben Mastropaulo capped the drive when he kicked the extra point to give the Aztecs a 21-20 victory.

“I was nervous, but I knew it was good right away,” he said.

Esperanza (6-4, 3-2) finished in a three-way tie for second place but beat the teams it tied--Marina and Fountain Valley--so the Aztecs advance to the Southern Section playoffs as the league’s No. 2 representative.

The loss left Fountain Valley--which could have shared the league title with a victory--stunned.

The Barons (6-4, 3-2) lost leading rusher Nedal Abdelmuti to a leg injury on his first carry but hung tough. Fullback Steve Fifta scored a touchdown on a 23-yard screen pass and another on a one-yard run and Fountain Valley’s Matt Hanson made field goals of 37 and 53 yards in the fourth quarter to open up a 20-14 lead.

Things looked good for Fountain Valley when its defense, led by Fifta, who also plays nose tackle and had four sacks and another tackle for a loss, stopped Esperanza on downs at midfield with 1:25 to play in the game. But the Barons failed to get a first down and punted.

After one punt was called back because of an illegal block by Fountain Valley, the Barons were called for a personal foul at the end of their second punt, giving Esperanza a first down at its 38.

“That was a tough game,” Esperanza Coach Gary Meeks said. “We had a tough time because we weren’t picking up their blitz but they didn’t blitz us at the end so we were able to get some passes off.”