Sports

Fountain Valley Loses in First Round of the Playoffs

San Juan Hills High, which has never seen post-season action, bests the Barons by 1 point.

By Penny Arévalo

“It wasn’t pretty.” You can attribute that to the coaches of both the San Juan Hills football team and Fountain Valley High’s.

Because they both said it.

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It was a CIF Southwest playoff game of fumbles and interceptions and more fumbles. And just when you thought one team was about to capitalize from a turnover … yep, you guessed it.

While the San Juan Hills Stallions scored first on a 12-yard pass from QB Jacob Gibson to Jordan Pape, the Barons weren’t far behind with a 22-yard reception of their own, caught by Noah Rivard. By half, San Juan Hills was down 21-13. With two Fountain Valley field goals, a third-quarter 1-yard run by SJH’s Mike Miscione wasn’t enough to take the lead. That didn’t happen until 5:19 left in the game, when Miscione scored on a 58-yard pass.  The kick was good, giving the go-ahead point.

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Then, like a repeat from last week, the opponent had the ball back with enough time on the clock. And the Stallions held them, regaining possession with 1:33 left in the game. All the timeouts in the world weren’t going to stop the march of time.

Score: San Juan Hills 28, Fountain Valley 27

Key Stats: Jacob Gibson passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 35, for San Juan Hills. 

Pivotal Moment: In the fourth quarter, Stallions’ Nathan Montelongo returned a punt to the 42-yard line. Next play, Mike Miscione burst for a 58-yard score; Kolton McCluskey's PAT gave SJH a 28-27 lead with 5:19 remaining.

Quotable: “I though they (the Stallions) did a great job,” said Fountain Valley head Coach Ray Fenton after emotional hugs with his team. “I’m extremely proud of my guys, how strong they play, their character. … Both sides had turnovers; we just had more. And inside the 10 against San Juan Hills – you just can’t make those mistakes.”

Quotable II: As San Juan Hills students celebrated and football players raised their helmets in the air, Stallions head Coach Aaron Flowers said he was numb. “We imagined winning the game, but when it happens it’s always a pleasant feeling. A lot of times it didn’t look like it was going our way, and we found a way. That’s what we do. We find a way.”

Records: San Juan Hills (10-1), Fountain Valley (7-4)

Notes: Scott Schultz led Fountain Valley with 197 yards passing. Dakari Barnett led the Barons with 53 yards rushing. ... Credit the San Juan Hills defense. The Stallions twice forced Fountain Valley to kick field goals in the last 15 minutes, of 32 and 42 yards, by Jonah Mack. The latter gave the Barons a 27-21 lead with 6:38 remaining. ... What might have been the game's biggest play if Fountain Valley had won was Hunter Morgain's 22-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the Barons a 14-7 lead in the first seconds of the second quarter. ... One of the game's craziest plays was on a fourth down conversion attempt. After the snap went way over Gibson’s head, he ran back, grabbed it, and punted it, sending the Barons to their own 25. (See video.) ... Next up: the Stallions will face off with Huntington Beach next week, which beat second-seeded Yorba Linda, 31-14. The game will be at Huntington Beach.


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