By Matthew Nguyen, Staff Writer
After the game was postponed on Friday due to a thunderstorm, the varsity football team took on Huntington Beach on Saturday. The Barons lost the match 15-30 despite their dominant display of defense due to a multitude of missed opportunities and mistakes.
The Barons started the game off on offense, hoping to gain a lead on the Oilers and leave them down early. After a quick succession of short completions from junior quarterback Josh Stupin, senior wide receiver Kishaun Sykes broke the doors wide open with an explosive run play. Sykes took a handoff between the tackles before breaking down the sideline, outrunning every Oiler defender in sight for a 40-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, the Barons defense found themselves backed up against their own one-yard line but they kept firm. The defense stopped the Oilers on four consecutive plays to retain the ball back on offense. Stupin fumbled a screen pass on the following play and allowed the Oiler’s defense to score their only touchdown of the first quarter. The score stood with Fountain Valley leading 7-6.
Besides the very first drive, the Barons found little to no success on offense in the first quarter. The same struggle to gain yardage carried over to the second. The stalling Fountain Valley offense allowed the Oilers to receive the ball in good field position on multiple occasions. While the Barons defense fought hard, they allowed the Oilers to score two touchdowns and kick a field goal. Heading into halftime, the score stood at 7-23 with Huntington Beach leading.
There seemed little hope for the Barons, who entered the second half with a 16 point deficit, yet the team continued to fight. Fountain Valley opened the third quarter with an impressive defensive showing. Two sacks by the Barons defensive line set up a spectacular interception by senior cornerback/wide receiver Tristan Bettinghausen, who returned the ball into the Oiler’s four-yard line. On the subsequent play, Stupin would find Bettinghausen in the back right corner of the end zone for a Barons’ touchdown.
Bettinghausen continued his heroic second-half performance on the very next drive, intercepting an Oilers pass before getting tackled on his very own 40-yard line. The Barons offense, however, could not move the ball, punting it repeatedly throughout the quarter. junior Jerry Ngo and senior Ryan Gilmore snagged two more interceptions on the next two ensuing drives, yet the Barons failed to capitalize on all but one of their turnovers. The score remained 15-23 going into the fourth quarter.
The Barons offensive struggles continued, after Sykes fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter, setting up an ensuing Oilers touchdown. The Fountain Valley offense continued to stall as Huntington Beach spent a majority of their time running time off of the clock. The Barons would lose the game with a devastating score of 15-30.
Be sure to purchase tickets at the financial office in order to support your Barons this Friday as they take on Edison in the annual battle for the bell at Orange Coast College.
