Barons Rebound to Blank Marina

WESTMINSTER —  Fountain Valley rebounded from last week’s loss to shut out Marina, 26-0, Friday in the Sunset League opener for both teams at Westminster High.

The Barons (5-1, 1-0), ranked seventh in the county, fell to powerful Santa Margarita a week ago. Marina (4-2, 0-1) entered the game with a three-game winning streak. Fountain Valley quieted any thoughts of an upset, though, with touchdowns on its first three possessions for a 19-0 first-half lead.

“I feel pretty good right now,” Baron Coach George Berg said. “I thought we had a pretty good defensive plan.”

Senior John Sanders stole the show for Fountain Valley (5-1, 1-0). Although the Baron passing game was struggling, Sanders rushed for 147 yards in 18 carries, including touchdowns of three, 34, and two yards. Fullback Woodrow Otis scored the first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run.

It was a good thing Sanders was on, because quarterback Jason Morris was having trouble finding anyone on his team to catch the ball. Morris completed nine of 22 passes and was intercepted twice, matching his total for five previous games. Six of his passes were dropped.

Marina had it’s trouble putting the ball in the end zone. The Vikings put together a 68-yard, eight-minute drive in the first half that resulted in a missed field-goal attempt. And they turned the ball over on downs twice in the second half, at the Baron 11 in the third quarter and at the Fountain Valley 25 in the fourth.

“We made too many mistakes,” Viking Coach Mark Rehling said. “I probably over-prepared them. We were a little confused and we didn’t adjust well.”

One bright spot for the Vikings was the performance of sophomore fullback Ray Mietkiewicz. Mietkiewicz rushed for 146 yards, accounting for 75% of the Marina offense.