By Shayan Abbasi
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s varsity football team lost 12-23 in the Homecoming game against Huntington Beach High School (HBHS). Friday’s loss caused the Barons to fall to a 4-3 record.
“Our team did well playing defense, even though they [HBHS] have 23, they [defense] still played a heck of a game,” junior quarterback Noa Banua said.
After the opening kickoff, much of the early first quarter was a battle of defense. When a quarterback from HBHS threw an interception with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter, a window of opportunity opened for the Barons. Banua handed the ball to senior Abdel Habibeh for several important yard gains. However, incomplete passes began to become a problem for the Barons and the first quarter ended with a score of 0-0.
The second quarter started out optimal for the Barons, with a flag against the Oilers for a false start that resulted in a five yard penalty. At third and 12, the Barons sacked an Oiler in the endzone for a touchdown. However, the Oilers blocked the subsequent field goal and they did not convert the extra point.
Fountain Valley’s lead would not last long against the crafty Oiler offense. One HBHS handoff led to a gain of 9 yards and another resulted in a 70 yard carry for the touchdown. After the touchdown, they went for the two point conversion but were unsuccessful. With 10:41 remaining in the second quarter, both teams were tied at 6-6.
The Barons could not answer with a touchdown of their own, as incompletions hindered their progress across the field. When FVHS punted the ball, the Oilers came back strong, thanks to a quarterback rush resulting in a gain of 14 yards. After this, the Oilers threw for a touchdown and converted the field goal for the extra point. With 3:55 left in the first half, HBHS led 6-13.
Huntington Beach’s punt was returned by senior Tyler Arevalos for a gain of 47 yards on the play. A pass to senior Ben Pham and a handoff to senior Max Smith led to a count of first and 10. After another pass to Pham and a handoff to Habibeh, FVHS made it to the seven yard line. This led to HBHS calling their first timeout of the game with 0:50 remaining in the first half.
The Oiler defense seemed rejuvenated after their timeout, forcing two incompletions and blocking Fountain Valley’s 33 yard field goal attempt. The first half ended with a score of 6-13.
At halftime, the Homecoming Court was called upstage and the Homecoming Royalty was announced.
The start of the third quarter saw a faster pace of play. After an unsuccessful HBHS possession, the Barons started to move up the field. A handoff to Habibeh and a pass completion by senior Joey Garcia led to a first down and the team had an opportunity to set the score to a tie. However, a loss of five yards to an HBHS tackle and an incomplete pass that fell out of the hands of sophomore Nolan Olivares on fourth and 4 led to a short punt by FVHS. After a series of handoffs, the Oilers threw for 14 yards and got the subsequent first down.
They could not get the touchdown, however, and had to settle for a 36 yard field goal attempt. The kick was good and HB now held a considerable lead over FV, leading 6-16 with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with the ball in Huntington Beach’s possession. However, due to a false start, a flag was thrown on the play. As a result, HB received a five yard penalty and had to move back 5 yards to the 11 yard line. After an overhead pass flew past the outstretched hands of the receiver in the far corner of the endzone, the count was third and 11. On this note, HBHS called their 2nd timeout of the game with 11:04 remaining in the last quarter of the game.
The Oilers came out of their team huddle with a purpose and threw a 11 yard pass into the endzone for another touchdown. The field goal conversion was also good, setting the score to 6-23.
The HBHS punt was returned by Olivares, who managed to secure a 29 yard return. With this, the ball was on the 35 yard line and a reception by Habibeh gained a further seven yards. A pass to Olivares led to a gain of four, as well as a first down. Soon afterwards, a flag on the play was thrown against the Oilers because of pass interference during an incomplete pass thrown by the Barons. As a result, the Barons got a first down and used it to throw another pass to Olivares for a gain of eight yards, with the ball on the six yard line. After an incompletion resulting in 3rd and 2, Banua threw a pass to Olivares, resulting in a touchdown for the Barons. The extra point was blocked, but the Barons improved their score to 12-23.
While the Barons lost at the end of regulation, they fought to the very end. Whether it was a quarterback rush or making passes to receivers, the pressure was never easing off on the Oiler defense.
“You know, this was a tough loss for us, but I’m so proud of this team,” head coach David Gutierrez said. “I will always be proud of this team. I love these guys. No one knows the hard work they put in, on and off the field.”
Looking forward to future games, Gutierrez said “This game does not represent who we are and I just want people to understand that I know that this team works very very hard and we will get better every day.”
The next FVHS varsity football matchup is an away game against Newport Harbor next week, on Friday, Oct. 14 The Barons hope to win one more game and qualify for the CIF playoffs.
