Barons’ football falls to the Los Alamitos Griffins

By Zander Sherry

On Thursday night, Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s varsity football team was defeated by the Los Alamitos Griffins 7-56. The Griffins, ranking tenth in the state with an overall record of 6-1, pressured the Barons with outstanding offensive plays but failed to break down the school’s morale.

“The hopes and expectations are [to] fight. Fight the whole game. Fight the whole 48 minutes and that’s the kind of culture we’ve been building,” junior quarterback Owen Tomko said.

After the Barons’ opening kickoff, the Griffins took the offense. The Barons were able to make a few tackles, but the Griffins soon scored their first touchdown pass, scoring an immediate seven-point lead. 

On the next possession, a screen pass from the Los Alamitos quarterback gave them a first down at the 26-yard line; scoring another touchdown pass, the Griffins kept on pushing the Barons.

Deep into defensive territory near the end zone, the Barons were forced to punt the ball to their 41-yard line, but the Griffins immediately responded with a 41-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 0-21. After a short drive into Los Alamitos territory, the Barons were able to deliver a 25-yard punt but were countered again with a 65-yard touchdown pass from the Griffins.

Nearing the end of the first quarter, senior wide receiver Drew Reyes was able to return a kick to the 35-yard line but the Barons were unable to advance into Los Alamitos territory. The Griffins took this as their chance to score their fourth touchdown. 

In the second quarter, junior running back Abdel Habibeh punted about 26-yards and was able to take pressure off the Barons’ defense, but the Griffins’ nationally-ranked quarterback remained virtually unstoppable, throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass, raising the score to 0-35.

Soon after, the Barons started a drive from the 15-yard line but were met with the Griffins’ 51-yard touchdown pass, ending the second quarter with a score of 0-49. The halftime event honored the seniors in FVHS’s Royal Regiment with a ceremony for Senior Night and the whole band played a show titled “Stranded,” stretching 80-yards over the field.

Going into the third quarter, the Barons returned to the field with renewed spirit, and the home crowd continued to cheer on. In the second half of the game, they were able to limit the Griffins to one touchdown. 

One highlight for the Barons across the third and fourth quarters was a combination of plays that allowed the team to work together and advance with possession of the ball. A series of short 10-yard passes from Tomko to junior linebacker Scott Peshke and Reyes allowed the Barons to move forward and continue stacking up first downs.

Habibeh followed with an eight-yard run to another first down and kept it up with a 15-yard run, bringing the ball into Los Alamitos territory and adding yet another first down. With this, junior running back Ben Pham rushed the ball to the left side for another first down. With an incomplete pass, the third quarter ended with the ball resting on the 20-yard line on the third down.

With the Barons in possession of the ball at the start of the fourth quarter, Tomko threw a touchdown pass to Reyes, putting six points on the board for the Barons. Sophomore wide receiver Andrew Osorio secured an extra point by landing a subsequent field goal and brought the score to 7-49.

“Well, [the touchdown is] just exciting for us ’cause we were down the whole game and it was just a little bit of hope,” Reyes said.

Nearing the end of the game, the Griffins’ second-string quarterback took a knee near the end zone. Knowing that a score of 7-56 warranted missing the chance of another touchdown, the ball was turned over to FVHS. The Barons’ inability to move the ball forward brought the game to an end. 

The Barons did not shut off the spirit that its home team generated during the halftime show and after the game, when the pep squad and the football players lined up, and the Royal Regiment performed the FVHS alma mater and fight song. Throughout the entire game, the pep squad cheered on the school’s players, and the crowd remained attentive, prepared to celebrate the drive of the Barons on the field. 

Their next game will be the annual Bell Game against Edison High School, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 22 at Orange Coast College.