Fountain Valley football team gets ready to take on third seeded Santa Ana in Division 8 playoffs

Junior quarterback Josh Stupin leads Fountain Valley’s offense (Photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Fountain Valley’s football team faces a formidable test Friday night when it meets Santa Ana, the No. 3 seeded team in the opening round of the CIF Division 8 playoffs at Santa Ana Stadium.

Kick-off is at 7 p.m.

Fountain Valley, which finished fifth out of six teams in the rugged Sunset League, qualified for the playoffs as an at-large team with a 34-21 victory over Newport Harbor last week.

“Santa Ana is a great team,” said Fountain Valley Coach Jimmy Nolan. “Adding (Patrick) McMorris made them dangerous. This will be a tough game.”

McMorris is the talented all-purpose back who has been dominant since joining the Saints (8-2) since the mid-way point of the season.

Fountain Valley (5-5, 1-4) will be looking for another big game from receiver Kishaun Sykes, an OC Sports Zone player to watch. Sykes has hauled in 41 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for more than 300 yards.

“Kishaun Sykes had some big plays for us vs Newport Harbor,” Nolan said. “And Matteo Fuiava ran hard, giving us the spark needed to get back in the winning column. Brandon Krause and Blake Anderson gave us some nice turnovers on defense. But it’s the boys in the trenches that we lean on, led by defensive lineman Jackson Weddle and free safety Jerry Ngo, who have anchored our D all season.”

Fountain Valley’s pass oriented offense is led by junior quarterback Josh Stupin, who has passed for 2,371 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Both Fountain Valley and Santa Ana have one common opponent. Fountain Valley defeated Woodbridge 35-21 on Aug. 31 while Santa Ana defeated the Warriors 40-21 on Sept. 13. McMorris had not yet become eligible for that game.

CIF FOOTBALL BRACKETS FOR ALL DIVISIONS

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com