Trae Davis (’16) prepares for a play to begin. Photo by Corey Nguyen.by Katherine Reis and Yasir Khaleq, Staff Writers
After a seven year losing streak, the Fountain Valley Barons varsity football team crushed the Newport Harbor Sailors in their first conference game last Thursday with a score of 51-20.
The Barons dominated the Sailors, taking a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Chad Olberding (‘16) had an outstanding performance, finishing with five touchdowns, four of which he ran into the end-zone.
Newport Harbor’s defense could not stop the Barons’ rushing attack from the start of the game, with Olberding running in two touchdowns within the first quarter, and Trae Davis (‘16) running for a touchdown to end the first quarter.
Moe Falealli (‘16) caught a touchdown to end the first half, putting the Barons up 27-14.
The Baron’s defense had high energy and held strong, holding the Sailors to under 80 yards total rushing.
The players were notably excited after their win. “We played excellent” said Davis, “it was, like, one of the best performances we played all year.”
When asked how the team would build on the momentum of their impressive performance, Davis said “We’re on a four-game win streak right now…I think we can win all of our games so far.”
Jake Garrett (‘17) agreed with his teammate, saying “ I think we are going to use [this momentum] tremendously. We’re going to go into league and shock everybody.”
Defensive leader Keiti Iakopo (‘16) had a similar comment, stating “We set the tone because we haven’t beat Newport Harbor since 2008, so we basically set the tone for the whole Sunset League. They don’t want to look at us the same anymore.”
Head Coach Raymond Fenton also spoke about ending the team’s losing streak against Newport saying, “It was eight, seven, long years since we had an opportunity to beat these guys and [the players] were able to overcome this streak and beat a good Newport team, so I’m really proud of [them].” Fenton also commented on the player’s “will to win,” and how “this week of practice was the best week…[he] could remember in all [his] years.”
The Barons hope to extend their four-game winning streak on Thursday, October 15 against the Los Alamitos Griffins.
