By Colette Nguyen and Elaine Vo, Staff Writers
The Barons went head-to-head with the Edison Chargers in this year’s annual Bell Game and did all they could to bring back the Bell. The Barons fought harder than before at the LeBard Stadium in Orange Coast College and made some outstanding plays, but ended the game with a score of 15-33.
The Barons started off strong with a six point lead scored by quarterback Chad Olberding (‘16). By the end of the first quarter, the score was 6-3.
Defense played a huge role and prevented many advances by the Chargers.
However the Chargers soon caught up, making the score 20-9.
The Barons responded just as fiercely with an outstanding touchdown made by Sal Ochoa (‘15) making the score 15-20 by the end of the third quarter, bringing hope for FV and whipping Loud Crowd into a frenzy.
“I think our defense as usual played outstanding. Hunter [Margain] (’15) did a great job, and Stone [Escobedo] (’16) did a great job, and Keiti [Iakopo] (’16) were excellent,” said Coach Fenton. “Sal got a pick six and scored a touchdown on defense and it was a big momentum switch for us. It was a good, nice play.”
The Battle for the Bell came to a close with a score of 15-33. The Barons improved by a great deal compared to last year.
“Well, obviously we didn’t do as good as we wanted to, but, I mean, we fought hard. Our defense played hard. Our offense played better than we’ve been playing , but I mean it’s still not enough.” said offensive guard Cole Chambers (‘15).
“I was really proud of our guys. I thought they played extremely hard. They played how they should play at a rival game against Edison. I’m very, very proud of them, I think they earn a ton of respect,” said Fenton. “I was amazed by our crowd. Our student section was just so incredible and just extremely appreciative. What you guys do, what the crowd did, it’s just so great to be a Baron.”
Now, the Barons are only looking toward the future.
“I think we got a lot better tonight to be honest,” said Coach Fenton. “We’re gonna keep getting better. Next week if we beat Newport, we’ve got a chance to make the playoffs. We’re still playing for the playoffs and hopefully we have another great turn out like this and beat them.”
Photos by Ashley Le, photo manager.
