Fountain Valley 29 - Eagles 17
Ponchak propels offense as Fountain Valley wins
COSTA MESA, CA., October 7, 1994 – After struggling the first four weeks against a difficult schedule, Fountain Valley broke out Friday for a 29-17 nonleague victory over Santa Margarita at Orange Coast College.
Quarterback Chris Ponchak rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two second-half scores to lead the Barons (2-3) to a season-high point total. Fountain Valley had scored just 38 points in its first four games. Santa Margarita (2-3) had a two-game winning streak stopped.
The Barons controlled the clock with their ground game, as evidenced on their first two scoring drives. Fountain Valley's first drive took 11 plays and 5:16 to cover 57 yards, which Ponchak ended with a 1-yard sneak for a 7-0 lead. Santa Margarita cut the margin to 7-5 on a 42-yard field goal by Ryan Korinke with 18 seconds left in the second quarter, but the Barons reasserted themselves to open the second half. They traveled 75 yards in 15 plays, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ponchak to Michael Rumford with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
Fountain Valley extended its lead to 22-5 early in the fourth quarter.
| Fountain Valley | 7 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 29 |
| Santa Margarita | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 17 |
FV – Ponchak 1 run (Miltenbarger kick)
SM – Safety: Punter fumbled punt out of end zone
SM – Korinke 42 FG
FV – Rumford 4 pass from Ponchak (Miltenbarger kick)
FV – Ponchak 1 run (Rumford pass from Ponchak)
SM – Nickels 70 pass from Garrigan (run failed)
FV – Harrison 8 pass from Ponchak (Miltenbarger kick)
SM – Nickels 8 pass from Garrigan (run failed)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Rushing: FV - Ponchak 13-103, Harrison 6-61; SM - Garnigan 12-55, Newman 6-44
Passing: FV - Ponchak 7-20-2-68; SM - McNeil 1-1-0-12, Garrigan 10-19-0-163
Receiving: FV - Puglisi 3-35, Rozer 1-11; SM - Nickels 7-126, Clark 1-31
By Brent Goodrich
Saturday, October 8, 1994
The Orange County Register - D9
Fountain Valley Runs Past Santa Margarita, 29-17
COSTA MESA, CA., October 7, 1994 – Any rushing yardage at all would have been an improvement for Fountain Valley’s offense Friday night, especially after the Barons were held to minus-1 yard on the ground last week against Servite.
But the Barons went above and beyond mere improvement Friday night against Santa Margarita.
The Barons rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-17 non-league victory over Santa Margarita at Orange Coast College. Quarterback Chris Ponchak ran for 103 yards and running back Matt Harrison chipped in with a strong second half for the Barons.
The dominance on the ground was a quantum leap for Fountain Valley, considering it ended up in negative rushing figures in a 23-7 loss to Servite on Sept. 30. But against Santa Margarita, the Barons broke open a close game in the second half with a solid ground attack.
Fountain Valley (2-3) led at halftime, 7-5, and moved 75 yards in 15 plays for a touchdown to start the second half. They gained 54 yards in 11 rushes on the drive, including 20 yards by Harrison. Ponchak finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Michael Rumford.
The Barons increased the lead to 22-5 with 11:30 left in the game when Ponchak scored his second touchdown, scoring from the one. The touchdown was set up by James Melad’s blocked punt, which gave Fountain Valley the ball at the Santa Margarita 14.
Harrison, who finished with 61 yards in six second-half carries, closed out the victory with an eight-yard touchdown reception with 1:46 to play.
By Mark Spinn
Saturday, October 8, 1994
The Los Angeles Times
