Baron Magic

By Rachel McMillen, Sports Editor

Not even Halloween stopped the loyal Baron football fans from seeing their team play the number-two team in the county last Friday at OCC. And once again, they weren\’t disappointed. In the largest upset of the year, the Barons pulled through to clutch a 21-14 win against Los Alamitos in overtime.

The game started out without much optimism. The Barons were unranked, Los Al was number two. It didn\’t look very hopeful. Allowing a touchdown in the first quarter and another in the second, the boys went into the locker room at half time down 14-0.

However, the Barons were not ready to accept defeat. Something clicked during half time and they came back out ready to win. FV\’s defense pulled it together and did not allow the Griffins another chance to score. The Baron offense started getting tricky and refused to go down without a fight.

The third quarter marked the beginning of the Baron\’s thrilling comeback. Junior and replacement quarterback Dominic Ragland threw an astoundingly accurate 30-yard pass to senior Artie O\’Keefe, who ran it into the end zone for the touchdown, finally putting FV on the board 7-14.

The Barons continued to shock Los Al\’s fans by scoring yet again halfway through the fourth. Junior running back Kyle Middlebrooks powered his way through the Griffin defense and into the end zone for another touchdown, bringing the score to a dead even 14-14 and forcing the game into overtime.

It seemed as if FV had some kind of supernatural force working with them. In their first possession of overtime, the Barons were able to secure another touchdown. Ragland and Middlebrooks worked together to get the ball down the field, where Middlebrooks ran with it into the end zone.

The game wasn\’t over though; Los Al still had time to score. However, junior Ryan Steadman locked in FV\’s victory with a heart stopping interception, denying Los Al a pass into the end zone. The crowd erupted as the Barons realized they had just done the impossible and beaten the previously undefeated Griffins.

This wasn\’t the first time Orange County has seen the Baron\’s work their magic though. Last week they came back in the very last seconds of the fourth quarter to clinch a one point win over fellow Sunset League team Newport Harbor. Still without their starting quarterback, it seems as if Fountain Valley is becoming the miracle of SoCal football.

Next week they take on long-time rival Edison in the most anticipated season of the year. Edison is currently ranked fifth, but as this week has proved, rankings mean nothing.  A Charger defeat could mean a possible Sunset League Title for the Barons, something they haven\’t had in years.

This is part of Baron Banner Now to give you to the latest updates. Editing takes place as the action occurs.