Fountain Valley Survives a Big Scare From Edison

Unranked Edison threw quite a scare into sixth-ranked Fountain Valley Friday, but the Barons scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including two in the final 1 1/2 minutes to pull out a 42-28 Sunset League victory in front of 8,000 at Orange Coast College.

It was the third time in four years Fountain Valley has defeated the Chargers in the final minutes and the Barons’ fourth consecutive victory in the Battle for the Bell.

Fountain Valley (7-2, 3-1 in league), which clinched a playoff spot, was fortunate to win this one. Despite playing with three sophomores and a freshman on defense, Edison (3-6, 0-4) held its own and twice had possession inside the 25-yard line in the fourth quarter with the score tied, 28-28.

The first time, Fountain Valley defensive back Scott Schutze intercepted Jason Kripavicius’ pass at the four with just over six minutes left in the game.

On the next play, Fountain Valley running back Tyler Kruse fumbled and Edison’s Seth Prelesnik recovered at the 14. However, Edison moved backward from there. Fountain Valley defenders Nick Heinle (three sacks) and Andre Sommersell (two sacks) each sacked Kripavicius, and then kicker Travis Wilson missed a 42-yard field goal.

After taking over at the 20 with 3:58 left to play, Fountain Valley moved to the Edison 44. Kruse, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound fullback, took an inside handoff, broke through a large hole, then got outside and ran down the sideline for the touchdown.

It was a nice way to bury the memory of the fumble. “It was the worst feeling ever,” Kruse said. “I thought I lost the game for the team.”

Instead, he watched Steven Fifita put it away with a 20-yard scoring run with 51 seconds left.