Huntington Beach football beats Yorba Linda, flying high with 5-0 start
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The Huntington Beach High football team faced a fourth-and-19 situation with less than two minutes left in the game.
The situation quickly went from dire to delightful Friday night against Yorba Linda.
Senior quarterback Brady Edmunds did not panic, finding senior receiver Skylar Robinson along the right sideline for a 32-yard gain.
Plays like these, and the confidence that comes with them, have kept the Oilers undefeated halfway through the regular season.
Three plays later, Edmunds hit Dylin Bruce on a 26-yard touchdown pass, as Huntington Beach rallied to shock Yorba Linda 29-25 in a nonleague game at Cap Sheue Field.
The Oilers are 5-0 for the first time since 1998.
“We do this every day [in practice],” second-year Huntington Beach head coach Matthew Hatchette said. “We do a no-huddle, game on the line, down by something every single day … They didn’t panic in that moment, and that’s why it was a great win for them. A lot of people panic in that scenario, and they didn’t panic.”
The Ohio State-bound Edmunds, who passed for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also had a rushing score, called it a statement win over Yorba Linda. The Mustangs (4-1) were the CIF Southern Section Division 3 champion in 2022, Division 4 semifinalists in 2023 and Division 2 semifinalists in 2024.
“Obviously, Yorba Linda’s been a really, really good program for a long time now,” Edmunds said. “It proves that we belong with the best … The difference between 4-1 and 5-0 going into the bye week is a huge difference, in terms of how practices will go and everything like that. Huge win.”
Yorba Linda held a 6-0 halftime lead, on the first of four rushing touchdowns by junior running back Isaiah Trujillo. Huntington Beach was moving the ball, but turned it over on downs twice inside the Yorba Linda 30-yard line and also had a pair of Robinson touchdowns — on a punt return and reception — called back.
But Huntington Beach came out scorching in the third quarter. Edmunds’ 3-yard rushing score, set up by a 33-yard pass to Kye Crump, gave the Oilers their first touchdown.
After a Yorba Linda three-and-out, Edmunds found Robinson on a 45-yard touchdown pass for a 14-6 advantage midway through the third quarter.
Yorba Linda responded with its own scoring drive, but Robinson took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the house. It was his fourth time in the end zone on the night — the second time that counted.
“It’s just the chemistry, the way our brotherhood is,” Robinson, a North Carolina commit, said of the reason for the Oilers’ success. “We hang out every day, we workout every day, we fight through adversity. I feel like this team is one of the best teams.”
The third rushing touchdown for Yorba Linda’s Trujillo, who finished with 22 carries for 147 yards, cut the Oilers’ lead to 21-19 headed to the fourth quarter.
When Huntington Beach turned the ball over on downs at its own 43-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, the Mustangs took advantage. Eleven straight rushing plays by either Trujillo or Taj LaGraffe culminated in a 1-yard plunge from Trujillo. The conversion pass failed, but Yorba Linda took a 25-21 lead with 2:36 left in the fourth quarter.
That was enough time for Edmunds to work some magic, even with no timeouts and even after a third-down sack by Yorba Linda’s LaGraffe, Landon Pearson and Micheal Deep set up the fourth-and-19 at the Huntington Beach 29-yard line.
Bruce, an Arizona State commit who dodged defenders in the middle of the field on the winning score before cutting right to the end zone, finished with nine catches for 127 yards.
After the clock hit zeroes, Hatchette said the win would be big for the Oilers’ belief. Huntington Beach has a bye this week before opening Delta League play at home against El Modena on Oct. 2.
Of the Oilers’ league opponents, El Modena (4-0) and Dana Hills (5-0) are also undefeated.
“If we believe that we can go out and win those types of games, we will,” Hatchette said. “We always have this conversation — those who think they can, will. It’s hard to get kids to believe in themselves at times. To go through adversity and come out on the correct side of it, that’s what this whole high school football thing is about.”
Nonleague
Huntington Beach 29, Yorba Linda 25
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Yorba Linda 6 - 0 - 13 - 6 — 25
Hunt. Beach 0 - 0 - 21 - 8 — 29
FIRST QUARTER
YL — Trujillo 1 run (kick failed), 7:08.
SECOND QUARTER
None.
THIRD QUARTER
HB — Edmunds 3 run (Newmaster kick), 8:59.
HB — Robinson 45 pass from Edmunds (Newmaster kick), 7:41.
YL — Trujillo 2 run (run failed), 4:48.
HB — Robinson 90 kickoff return (Newmaster kick), 4:36.
YL — Trujillo 5 run (Norton kick), 0:00.
FOURTH QUARTER
YL — Trujillo 1 run (Norton kick), 2:36.
HB — Bruce 26 pass from Edmunds (Edmunds run), 0:24.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
YL — Trujillo, 22-147, 4 TDs; Schroeder, 6-53.
HB — Santillian, 15-63.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
YL — Churney, 9-15-0, 113.
HB — Edmunds, 25-33-0, 310, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
YL — Mackay, 2-31; Trujillo, 1-29.
HB — Bruce, 9-127, 1 TD; Robinson, 7-124, 1 TD.
