Stunned at the end

NEWPORT BEACH — Coach Jeff Brinkley tried to gather himself before he scanned the football field.

The scene was chaotic, players piling on top of each other. Others had their backs to the ground looking at the sky.

The way his Newport Harbor High team attacked the opposing running back for most of the game portrayed the Sailors afterward.

“We were flat-footed,” Brinkley said.

The Sailors stood motionless, in complete shock. Their attempt to beat Fountain Valley with Dillan Freiberg’s 44-yard field-goal attempt came up short as time expired Thursday night.

The Barons stormed the field after pulling out a 22-21 upset, their first victory in the Sunset League.

It was the second dramatic finish this month for the Sailors at Newport Harbor’s Davidson Field.

This time, Newport Harbor was the visiting team because Fountain Valley’s home site, Huntington Beach High, is undergoing renovation.

What unfolded in the final minute was something in the making for the Barons (5-2, 1-1 in league). The past three seasons they had only won three league games, all against Marina, a perennial last-place team.

Fountain Valley has finally beaten someone else, an amazing feat if you ask Fountain Valley running back Kyle Middlebrooks.

The junior made sure the Barons pushed through. He was elusive went it mattered most.

With the clock running out, Middlebrooks took a draw on Fountain Valley’s 48-yard line. It seemed like a crazy call with the Barons having no timeouts.

But Middlebrooks went right and turned it up field, flying past everyone for a game-winning 52-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left.

“You got to get the ball in the hands of the best player on the field,” Fountain Valley Coach John Shipp said. “We figured they were going to play a little deeper.”

Middlebrooks buried Newport Harbor (4-3, 0-2), which will look for its first league victory next week when it plays host to Esperanza (5-1, 1-0).

The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Middlebrooks finished with 221 yards on 21 carries. Only twice had Newport Harbor allowed teams to rush for more than 100 yards.

Middlebrooks surpassed that total on his sixth carry of the game, coming late in the opening quarter.

The Sailors contained Middlebrooks the rest of the way until his last carry.

No one was about to catch him from behind when he hit his stride.

He’s scored at least one rushing touchdown in every game this season.

“It was just one of those situations that we had to go,” said Middlebrooks, who was 32 yards shy of surpassing his season best of 252 yards. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling.”

On the Sailors’ side, things weren’t so dandy.

Falling to 0-2 in the super competitive Sunset League is a big hurdle if you plan to play in the postseason.

The Sailors have battled in both of their games, losing, 14-7, last week to Edison, ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll.

This close loss stung more because Newport Harbor had defeated Fountain Valley twice since joining the Sunset League in 2006. This was a must-win game.

“It’s tough,” Brinkley said.

The Sailors fought their way back after Fountain Valley quarterback Dominic Ragland gave the Barons a 10-0 lead with a sneak early in the second quarter.

The offensive balanced attack, with running back Michael Helfrich (120 rushing yards on 17 carries) and quarterback Andrew McDonald (173 passing yards and two touchdowns) played an integral part.

McDonald’s second touchdown pass came in the third quarter, a 57-yard streak to senior wide receiver JB Green, close to six minutes after Helfrich ripped a 50-yard touchdown in the quarter.

Newport Harbor led, 21-13, with 3:56 left. It wasn’t a big enough advantage.

By then it was announced that Shipp’s wife, Danielle, had won the 50-50 raffle. Everything seemed to go the Barons’ way, even the amount of points it scored meant something.

“It’s only more fitting that our captain is No. 22,” Shipp said of quarterback Steven Santana. “He broke his collarbone [in the] second week [and is out for the season].

“Mr. Ragland is no longer a backup.”

Brinkley could see that. Ragland was one of the players in the dog pile.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY 22, NEWPORT HARBOR 21

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Newport 0 7 14 0 - 21

Fountain Valley 3 10 0 9 - 22

FIRST QUARTER

FV – Erskine 21 FG, 7:28.

SECOND QUARTER

FV – Ragland 1 run (Erskine kick), 10:45.

NH – Whiteside 7 pass from McDonald (Freiberg kick), 2:16.

FV – Erskine 24 FG, 0:05.

THIRD QUARTER

NH – Helfrich 50 run (Freiberg kick), 9:30.

NH – Green 57 pass from McDonald (Freiberg kick), 3:56.

FOURTH QUARTER

FV – Erskine 22 FG, 10:27.

FV – Middlebrooks 52 run (kick failed), 0:30.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

NH – Helfrich, 17-120, 1 TD; Miller, 5-13; Green, 1-9; Andrews, 2-3; McDonald, 2-minus 8.

FV – Middlebrooks, 21-221, 1 TD; Ragland, 16-80, 1 TD; Garcia, 3-20.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

NH – McDonald, 12-16-0, 173, 2 TDs.

FV – Ragland, 9-17-1, 65.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

NH – Green, 4-97, 1 TD; Whiteside, 6-58, 1 TD; Gomez, 1-10; Andrews, 1-8.

FV – Manzon, 2-28; Middlebrooks, 3-21; Gonzales, 1-12; O’Keefe, 2-7; Garcia, 1-minus 3.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.