Fountain Valley Inspired but Falls to No. 1 Poly, 28-20

Galvanized by the memory of a fallen teammate, Fountain Valley nearly turned the Southern Section Division I playoffs upside down on Friday night.

Four days after tackle Scotty Lang died during sprints at practice, Fountain Valley played as hard as it could for 48 minutes against the section’s top-seeded team, Long Beach Poly.

But instead of writing a fairy-tale ending, Fountain Valley was a victim of its its own mistakes. The Barons lost to Poly, 28-20, in front of about 7,000 at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Just how much did Fountain Valley put out for the memory of Lang? The Barons committed eight turnovers, yet lost by only eight points.

“We were trying to make every play,” said quarterback Casey Clark, “and in the end, it hurt us.”

Four of those turnovers resulted in Poly touchdowns.

Poly (11-0) next will play Fontana A.B. Miller, which beat Santa Margarita, 31-0.

Fountain Valley, which made the playoffs as a fourth-place at-large team from the Sunset League, finished 6-5.

Poly committed only one turnover, but despite that advantage, the game wasn’t decided until the final minute, when Marley Tucker intercepted Clark’s long pass at the 20-yard line with 38 seconds remaining.

“I thought we could’ve won the ball game,” Fountain Valley Coach Eric Johnson said. “I thought we could play with anybody. They were focused, [but] turned it over [eight] times.

“We’re a little wounded emotionally and physically.”

Lang’s funeral is today at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Atlanta Avenue in Huntington Beach.

Fountain Valley’s defense was superb. The Barons outgained Poly, 256-204.

The defense had only one letdown, and it came after the sixth turnover, providing the game’s critical sequence. Charles Jones’ interception gave the Jackrabbits possession at the 47, and Brandon Fasavalu passed 44 yards to Donta Candler.

Hershel Dennis scored on the next play, from three yards, the last of his four touchdowns.

That touchdown, which made the score 28-20 with 11:06 to play, was like the others Poly scored. Dennis, who scored twice on one-yard runs in the first quarter, capped scoring drives of 11 yards (three plays), 18 yards (two plays), 13 yards (one play) and 47 yards (two plays). Each came after a turnover.

Clark completed nine of 15 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown to Bryan Schenewerk that tied it, 14-14. Adam Leonard’s 29-yard pass to Robert Lodge gave the Barons their first touchdown.

Matt Hanson kicked two field goals, a 38-yarder as time expired in the firs half to give the Barons a 17-14 lead, and a 25-yarder in the third quarter to cut the Barons’ deficit to 21-20.