By Matthew Nguyen, Staff Writer
Fountain Valley suffered a devastating loss to Edison High school in the annual bell game with a score of 20-42. The defeat marked the teams fifth straight loss of the season, as well as the fourteenth consecutive year the Barons fail to win the bell.
The game started out with tough defense from both sides of the ball. The Barons began with three “three and outs” due to their continued struggles in accumulating yardage while the Chargers failed to find a rhythm due to the stout defense displayed by Fountain Valley. The Chargers went on to score twice after finding their groove in the latter part of the first quarter to put the Barons down 0-14.
The Barons offense began showing signs of life in the beginning of the second quarter. After rolling out to his right to avoid the oncoming pressure, junior quarterback Josh Stupin found senior wide receiver Brandon Krause on a short crossing route around the 30 yard line. Krause, tightroping the sideline, accelerated past the entire Chargers defense for the Barons’ first and only touchdown of the half. Edison, after a deep pass to their wide receiver, would score their second rushing touchdown of the game with only 27 seconds left on the clock. The Barons headed into halftime with the score of 7-21.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Chargers quickly found themselves in a fourth and short and failed to convert a fake punt due to a spectacular tackle made by senior linebacker Ryan Gilmore. The Barons took advantage of the great field position given to them by the Chargers. After a quick screen to senior wide receiver Kishaun Sykes, who spun and weaved himself pass multiple Edison defenders, Fountain Valley found themselves on the opposing 4 yard line. A false start penalty and a failed pitch by quarterback Stupin abruptly ended a promising barons drive. The Chargers capitalized on the Barons’ mistakes and scored another touchdown on the subsequent drive to increase the deficit to 7-28.
The final quarter of the game began with Edison leading two break-breaking drives that simultaneously scored two touchdown and wasted away the clock. The Barons, down 7-42, had little hope of jumpstarting a miraculous comeback, however Stupin found senior wide receiver Tristan Bettinghausen for two 80+ yard touchdowns to close out the game and leave the final score at 20-42.
The Barons are still looking forward to potentially making C.I.F despite now having a 0-4 record in league and an overall losing record of 4-5.
“The outcome wasn’t what we wanted or expected,but it is what it is. We’re gonna bounce back harder than ever. We have new life if we win out. We can make playoffs and win C.I.F championship,” said Stupin.
However, before the Barons can go on to the playoffs, they must handle their business and potentially claim their first league victory of the year in a crucial matchup against Newport Harbor this Friday.
