Nick Welch leads Fountain Valley to a 2-0 start with 48-0 rout of South Torrance

Two games into the season, and Fountain Valley High has already topped last year’s success on the football field.

The Barons have moved past last season’s one-win campaign, their worst since 1990.

There is a new quarterback and a new winning attitude.

Nick Welch, a transfer from Huntington Beach, used his arm and legs to throttle South Torrance 48-0 at Cap Sheue Field on Thursday, helping host Fountain Valley improve to 2-0.

In two games, the Barons have only allowed two points. They produced their first shutout in nine years. The last time Fountain Valley blanked someone it went on to share the Sunset League title in 2008.

There are three more nonleague contests before the Barons enter league play. They failed to win a game in league a year ago.

They didn’t have Welch, though.

The senior has made a difference in turning things around in coach Jimmy Nolan’s second year at the helm of the Barons. Welch completed 15 of 23 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed 10 times for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

“We might be the first team [this year] to be 2-0 in … six days,” said Nolan, whose team opened the season last Saturday on the road with a 38-2 win against Troy. “We didn’t recover much. We lost our best player [Kishaun Sykes to an ankle injury] in the first quarter against Troy, and he couldn’t play tonight. But we had an awesome Monday and we had an awesome Tuesday.”

The Barons had an awesome Thursday, too.

To understand how much things have changed with the Barons, there was a running clock at the start of the second half. They played that dominant.

Fountain Valley didn’t need Welch in the second half. Welch didn’t play in the final two quarters.

Through the first two quarters, Welch’s favorite target was wide receiver Adam Arganda. He finished with five receptions for 150 yards and three touchdowns.

For the second time in as many games, one of those Welch-Arganda hook ups was of the long variety.

Arganda turned a pass in the flat into a 66-yard touchdown. The senior caught a 75-yard touchdown in Fountain Valley’s opener last week. His ability to go the distance is darn impressive for someone who used to be an offensive lineman.

“When I got here, I saw how fast he was. He’s real fast,” Welch said of Arganda. “We’ve just all been on the same page. We’ve all been working really hard toward the same goal, and that’s winning.”

The Barons quickly moved up and down the field, even with Sykes, a receiver, on a crutch on the sideline.

The first four minutes featured a 58-yard field-goal attempt by South Torrance and a fake punt by Fountain Valley inside its 15-yard line. Only one fourth-down play worked, and it led to the Barons striking first.

Welch took the snap on fourth-and-16, and instead of punting, he used his arm. He hit Jake Flores over the middle for a 20-yard play. Fountain Valley ran seven more plays, 11 in all, capping the 86-yard drive with Welch’s legs.

With no one else in the backfield but Welch, he took the snap in shotgun and scored on a 19-yard keeper up the middle.

Welch and company would get back on the field in 30 seconds. South Torrance’s receivers had a hard time holding onto the ball whenever Drew Nash threw it their way. A quick three-and-out left the Barons inside their 40-yard line.

After taking down Welch for a four-yard loss on first down, the offense went to Arganda. Welch’s pass to the right found Arganda, and he turned toward the Fountain Valley sideline and went for a 66-yard touchdown.

Things only got worse for the Spartans.

This time, with the offense starting near its 10-yard line, Nash couldn’t hold onto the ball. The ball slipped out of his grip when he tried to throw it, and it landed in the end zone. Dylan Swenson fell on it for the Barons, and they went ahead 20-0.

In almost a two-minute span in the opening quarter, Fountain Valley scored three touchdowns. The quarter never looked like it would end, taking more than 40 minutes to complete.

When the first quarter expired, Fountain Valley wasted little time to score again. Sixty-nine seconds into the second quarter, Welch found Arganda for a 21-yard touchdown.

The Barons added two more touchdowns, on a four-yard run to the left by Welch and on a 30-yard pass to Arganda. Fountain Valley went into halftime with a 41-0 lead, marking the second time it has blanked an opponent in the first half this year.

The Barons did lose a couple of key starters to injuries. Nolan said Brandon Krause, a receiver and returner, dislocated a knee, and Max Hanson, a defensive end and linebacker, dislocated a shoulder.

“Forget about the victory tonight. I feel like it was a loss,” said Nolan, referring to seeing Krause and Hanson go down. “They’re going to be gone for at least [next week’s game against Trabuco Hills], and maybe the season. Our three best players are out right now.

“I’m proud of these boys because they’ve shown some grit. Last year, when adversity hit, we hung our heads.”

Fountain Valley 48, South Torrance 0

South Torrance……...0 0 0 0 — 0

Fountain Valley…...20 21 7 0 — 48

FIRST QUARTER

FV – Welch 19 run (Swain kick), 5:22.

FV – Arganda 66 pass from Welch (Swain kick), 4:04.

FV – Swenson recovers fumble in end zone (kick blocked), 3:23.

SECOND QUARTER

FV – Arganda 21 pass from Welch (Swain kick), 10:51.

FV – Welch 4 run (Swain kick), 3:25.

FV – Arganda 30 pass from Welch (Swain kick), 1:42.

THIRD QUARTER

FV – Horn 1 run (Swain kick), 2:08.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

ST – Rugnetta, 7-15.

FV – Welch, 10-53, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

ST – Nash, 15-39-0, 128.

FV – Welch, 15-23-0, 273, 3 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

ST – Fish, 5-50.

FV – Arganda, 5-150, 3 TDs.

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @ByDCP