Fountain Valley wears down against Golden Valley in CIF football quarterfinals

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Nov. 17, 2017 11:45 PM PT

Reporting from Canyon Country — From an outsider’s perspective, it seemed that the biggest challenge for Fountain Valley High’s football team on Friday would be moving the ball against Santa Clarita Golden Valley’s defense.

The No. 2-seeded Grizzlies allowed just two points in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs at Nipomo.

While Barons coach Jimmy Nolan is never one to offer an excuse, the fact of the matter was that health was not an ally for his team.

Fountain Valley entered the quarterfinals without starting cornerbacks Jake Flores and Nick DeLelio, middle linebacker Carlos Salazar, and center Drew Schum.

It all culminated in Golden Valley being able to wear down Fountain Valley as the game went on. The host Grizzlies defeated the Barons 41-14 at Canyon Country Canyon High.

“How many guys play middle linebacker and quarterback, but we do what we have to do to win,” Nolan said, referencing senior Nick Welch among the guys playing on both sides of the ball. “We call it the best 11.

“We don’t worry about that kind of thing, but it does take its toll.”

The night started off well for Welch, who threw for 170 yards and a touchdown in the first half. After the break, however, he completed just four of 17 attempts.

Welch also ran for 108 yards.

Fountain Valley (7-5) had chances. Julian Berinti dropped a touchdown in the third quarter, and several would-be first downs were dropped by Welch’s receivers.

Without Schum at center, ill news followed. Welch was forced to handle a number of high snaps.

On Fountain Valley’s second drive, one of those erratic snaps got over Welch’s head. It was recovered by Golden Valley’s De’Gabriel Floyd at Fountain Valley’s 30.

The Grizzlies (7-5) cashed in, as Cameron Ravenell recovered a fumble in the end zone when DJ Turner fumbled near the goal line.

“It feels great because I play both ways all game long, and it just feels good to go out there and do something that is effective and important for the team on offense,” Ravenell said. “It just feels good to be there for my team when they need me.”

Ravenell, who also had a sack, said he has received recruiting interest from UNLV, Sacramento State, and Wyoming to play defensive end in college.

The Barons lost three fumbles on offense. The others were recovered by Josh Jimenez and Ahvie Harris.

Behind early, Fountain Valley pressed the issue by going for it on fourth down. The Barons were successful just once on seven such conversion tries.

“The way we were playing on defense, we were stopping them, but we were giving up big plays,” Nolan said. “I thought, ‘Chances are we can’t snap the ball on a punt, so we might as well go for it.’”

An example of the big plays that plagued the Barons was the first score by Aidan Baptiste. The 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore broke loose for a 44-yard rushing touchdown on the first play after a failed gimmick play that ended with a fumble by Benn Vallier.

Baptiste finished with a game-high 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Turner’s 14 carries were very eventful, resulting in three rushing scores for the senior, but also two fumbles.

“It feels good because we have been working hard for this,” Baptiste said of advancing to the semifinals. “We’re going to finish it.”

Golden Valley awaits the winner of the quarterfinal game between Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (5-6) and Canyon Country Canyon (6-5). The teams will play at Canyon on Saturday.

The Grizzlies advanced to the Division 7 finals last year, falling to San Bernardino San Gorgonio 39-35.

A bright spot for the Barons was Brandon Krause. The junior came into the contest riding back-to-back games of over 100 yards receiving, and he extended that streak with seven catches for 108 yards on Friday.

The 6-foot-1 receiver was first to strike for the Barons, as he brought in a 10-yard pass from Welch to tie the game at 7-7 with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.

Vallier scored on a four-yard run at the 7:42 mark of the second quarter, briefly lifting the Barons to a 14-13 lead. The Barons, looking to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1993, would never score again. Golden Valley produced the game’s final 28 points.

CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs

Quarterfinals

Golden Valley 41, Fountain Valley 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Fountain Valley 7 – 7 – 0 – 0 — 14

Golden Valley 7 – 21 – 13 – 0 — 41

FIRST QUARTER

GV — Ravenell fumble recovery in end zone (Farber kick), 5:12.

FV — Krause 10 pass from Welch (Swain kick), :36.

SECOND QUARTER

GV — Turner 1 run (run failed), 11:06.

FV — Vallier 4 run (Swain kick), 7:42.