Huntington Beach football authors first win over Los Alamitos since 2012
- Share via
It must have felt like a dream state to longtime supporters of Huntington Beach football, a near-perfect first half resulting in the eventual takedown of an old rival for the first time in more than a decade.
Huntington Beach pounced on visiting Los Alamitos in a 31-15 victory on Thursday, the Oilers’ win in their home opener marking their first over the Griffins since 2012.
Everything fell into place. Huntington Beach (2-0), without much needed from star quarterback Brady Edmunds, scored the game’s first 28 points — before two minutes had elapsed in the second quarter — en route to a stunning upset of Los Alamitos (0-2), its traditional Sunset League foe and last season the CIF Southern Section Division 2 champion.
Los Alamitos underwent changes, with Ray Fenton, The Times’ coach of the year last season, moving on to Orange Lutheran. Edmunds acknowledged that turnover, but he cited the Griffins’ championship experience and winning pedigree in calling the result “a little bit of a statement win” and a “big thing.”
Edmunds, bound for Ohio State, had Buckeye fans — wearing shirts to indicate where their loyalties lie — sprinkled in among the crowd taking in the initial home game of his senior season. Huntington Beach’s four-year starter tossed a dart over the middle to Kye Crump for a 31-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
Other than a 49-yard completion, on which he avoided a sack in the pocket before throwing outside the numbers to Skylar Robinson, Edmunds had little occasion to show off his arm.
Instead, it was a big night for Dallas Miller. The senior transfer, from Mission Viejo, popped loose for a 68-yard run on a toss play, crediting tackle Brandon Edmunds with a key block on the left side of the line.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Miller, who would later cash in on the long run with a goal-line carry for the first of two rushing scores. “I saw daylight, my eyes got big, and I was off to the races.”
Miller, who rushed for 126 yards and had a team-high four catches for an additional 11 yards, also accomplished a personal goal in the contest.
“I’m best friends with [Los Alamitos] running back Kamden Tillis, so in my mind, the whole week, I was just thinking to myself, ‘I got to get more yards than him,’” Miller said.
Tillis turned his 15 carries into 85 yards.
Huntington Beach’s defense made several impactful plays, none bigger than Dylin Bruce’s pick-six, which turned the Griffins’ first trip across midfield into a 76-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
“The world should be on alert,” Huntington Beach coach Matthew Hatchette said of Bruce, an Arizona State commit. “He’s doing his thing as a two-way guy. He’s making plays both sides of the ball. What more do you want from him? That’s one of the best players in California, obviously.”
Then there was the ferocious pass rush of Evan Scruggs, who registered a handful of pressures, a fumble recovery, and a sack. Scruggs, who said he dealt with a knee issue in the opener against Millikan, said it was a team effort to get him ready this week.
“I just did a bunch of rehab on my knee,” Scruggs said. “My teammates helped, my trainers helped, my coaches helped, and I think that’s what really helped me this game was not … having to worry about my knee, just getting off the edge and getting around.”
The Oilers didn’t score after halftime, and the punting unit, in particular, left much to be desired, with snaps rolling on the ground and the hosts taking a safety when flagged for a penalty in the end zone.
“We got to be more consistent,” Hatchette said. “We want to play four quarters, not two and a half, not three and a half. We got to play four quarters. We’re going to get in better shape, and we got to tie up some loose ends.”
Corbin Rogers had a game-high 98 receiving yards for Los Alamitos, including a 55-yard connection from Elijah McDaniel on the game’s final play. They paired up for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Luke Osborn threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Sanchez in the left corner of the end zone to end the shutout in the second quarter, the Griffins’ initial scoring drive aided by a special teams blunder that gave them field position at Huntington Beach’s 40-yard line.
Nonleague
Huntington Beach 31, Los Alamitos 15
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Los Alamitos 0 - 7 - 0 - 8 — 15
Huntington Beach 21 - 10 - 0 - 0 — 31
FIRST QUARTER
HB — Crump 31 pass from Brady Edmunds (Newmaster kick), 8:51.
HB — Miller 2 run (Newmaster kick), 6:24.
HB — Bruce 76 interception return (Newmaster kick), 4:24.
SECOND QUARTER
HB — Miller 1 run (Newmaster kick), 10:16.
LA — Sanchez 17 pass from Osborn (Valadez kick), 4:23.
HB — Newmaster 32 FG, 0:00.
THIRD QUARTER
None.
FOURTH QUARTER
LA — Safety (penalty in end zone), 5:29.
LA — Rogers 8 pass from McDaniel (Valadez kick failed), 1:09.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
LA — Tillis, 15-85; McDaniel, 3-33; Kelly, 7-29; Team, 2-(-2).
HB — Miller, 18-126, 2 TDs; Brady Edmunds, 3-8; Santillan, 8-6; Crump, 1-5; Team, 4-(-47).
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
LA — Osborn, 6-18-2, 91, 1 TD; McDaniel, 4-7-0, 73, 1 TD.
HB — Brady Edmunds, 14-22-0, 161, 1 TD; Punter, 0-1-0, 0.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
LA — Rogers, 3-98, 1 TD; Swietlikowski, 1-29; Gogue, 3-20; Sanchez, 1-17, 1 TD; Tillis, 2-0.
HB — Crump, 3-61; Robinson, 3-59; Smith, 3-26; Miller, 4-11; Santillan, 1-3.
