Barons defensive line tackles down Mira Mesa. Photo by Sandra On.By Katherine Reis & Yasir Khaleq, Staff Writers
The Fountain Valley Barons varsity football team won in a non-conference game on Friday, beating the Mira Mesa Marauders 38-18.
The Barons took a 7-0 lead after quarterback Chad Olberding (‘16) ran into the end-zone for a touchdown and kicker Ben Filipek (‘16) nailed the extra point with 4:29 left in the first quarter. Olberding would go on to have another touchdown run to end the first half, and a third touchdown run, in addition to a touchdown pass to Moe Falealli (‘16), both in the fourth quarter.
Highlights of the game include Trae Davis’s (‘16) kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter to make it a 14-6 game, Olberding’s 38-yard first down run that put the Barons in position to score a touchdown before the end of the half, Falealli’s 16-yard first-down run in the third quarter, and Daniel Serano’s (‘17) fumble recovery.
The Barons were not perfect throughout the game, however. The defense had a costly 15-yard holding penalty, special teams and the offense both fumbled, and Olberding was intercepted twice (once for a pick-six). Despite their mistakes, the team chemistry picked up as the game continued.
“We gotta minimize our mistakes, you know, but most importantly we wanna look at the positive part of it and say that man, what great character, what great kids that can overcome those mistakes,” said Head Coach Raymond Fenton when asked about improving on his team’s win. “Now if we can minimize those mistakes, how good can we really be?”
Fenton went on to explain that the Monday and Tuesday practices leading up to the game were “horrible” from both the kids and the coaches.
“We had a team meeting on Tuesday…we re-established some of our criteria, our priorities in our football program, and our expectations. They responded really well on Wednesday and Thursday, and then tonight.” Fenton said.
When asked about what needed to be improved on for next week, Olberding said “We definitely need to make less mistakes…we’ve been running the same offense for four weeks and we should have it down.”
Falealli said he needed to “work on [his] skills and footwork..and not fumbling the ball anymore.”
The Barons are now 3-2 on the season. Their first conference game of this season will be against Newport Harbor on Thursday, October 8.
