PHOTOS: Defending CIF champion Sunny Hills up to challenge in 56-14 win over Fountain Valley

Sunny Hills’ Dylan Lawson sprints toward the end zone 61 yards away after intercepting a Fountain Valley pass. (Photos courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone)

It certainly wasn’t your typical football game … limited number of fans in the stands … a pre-game coin toss that included only one captain from each team waving at each other from 20 feet and social distancing enforced on the sidelines.

But, it was a football game and although both teams had their moments, ultimately the experience of a defending CIF champion Sunny Hills prevailed over a Fountain Valley team that has desires of having a program like the one the Barons faced Friday night at Buena Park High School.

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Sunny Hills’ skilled senior trio of Brandon Roberts (four), Vince Silva (one) and David Harris (one) combined for six of the Lancers’ eight touchdowns in a 56-14 victory.

For everyone involved, it was good enough to just be playing again.

“It’s been a real roller coaster,” said Roberts after scoring touchdowns on runs of 8, 13, 16 and 61 yards. “We just kept showing up and working hard with hopes for a season and once we heard the word we were up for the challenge.”

Sunny Hills coach Peter Karavedas understandably, was also happy.

“I’m really happy for our kids, our seniors, a great group,” he said. “I’m going to get to coach again, but these kids (seniors) don’t get this chance again.”

In their only non-league game of a six-game season, the Lancers were facing a Fountain Valley team with only six players with extensive game experience and that reality eventually showed itself, but the Barons made a game of it in the first half.

“The first half, four of our first five drives were on their side of the 50 and a couple of missed opportunities kept us from scoring more than two touchdowns,” said Fountain Valley Coach Chris Anderson. “But they wore us down as the game went on.”

Fountain Valley took the opening kickoff and drove the field behind talented quarterback Jimmy Russell, converting three fourth downs on a march that culminated with Russell finding Preston Amarillo in the end zone on a fourth-down, 6-yard play at 6:37.

It took the Lancers only three minutes to respond, Silva scoring on an 18-yard run three minutes later. Sunny Hills opened a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on Roberts’ 8-yard run but Fountain Valley responded by tying the score 14-14 on an 18-yard run by Benjamin Pham.

The tie didn’t last long. Max Spero, who replaced the graduated Luke Duxbury, a three-year starter at quarterback, connected on a long pass to Dylan Lawson and Roberts later scored on a 13-yard run for a 21-14 Sunny Hills advantage at half.

Running behind an experienced line of Brian Chang, Bryan Paz, Jacob Neumann, Kenny Lathrum, Oscar Gonzalez and Ethan Johnson, Roberts scored twice in the second half on runs of 16 and 61 yards, Waters scored on a 4-yard run a play after ripping off a gain of more than 40 yards and T.J. Vaipae added a TD on a 7-yard run.

Sunny Hills final TD came with a minute to play when Lawson blocked a Russell pass, caught the ball and ran 61 yards with the interception.

Fountain Valley was led by Russell, who completed 26 of 48 passes for 253 yards and one TD. Andrew Olivares had seven catches for 95 yards, Drew Reyes eight catches for 71 yards and Amarillo two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, Derek Kubota had seven solo tackles and forced a fumble, Bryan Yoon had nine tackles, Nicholes Mendez had four solo tackles and eight assisted tackles and Gavin Atkins forced a fumble.

Yoon had 151 kickoff return yards.

—Courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone