Jr. All-American Football

The Huntington Beach Dolphins used an overpowering defensive

performance Saturday to produce a 38-0 rout of the Orange Chiefs at Hart

Park in Orange.

The Dolphin defense held the Chiefs to a meager 27 yards of total offense

and the offense took advantage of six Orange turnovers to post 24 points

in the runaway victory.

Linebackers Trevor Engel and Brian Shrock each scored two defensive

touchdowns in the second half of play.

Both teams’ defenses dominated in the first half and it took the

Dolphins’ “D-Train” Justin Dawson to get Huntington Beach on the

scoreboard first.

Dawson rushed for 36 yards on six carries during the drive, which he

capped with a short touchdown run for a 6-0 halftime lead.

Huntington Beach took the second half kickoff and reached the Orange

two-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, but the Dolphin

defense came through with another big play as linebacker Willie Fiscus

III drilled an Orange ball carrier in the end zone and caused a fumble,

which Engel recovered for his first touchdown of the season.

On the Chiefs’ next series, Shrock stepped in front of an Orange receiver

to make an interception, which he returned 36 yards for a touchdown and a

19-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Fiscus scored on a three-yard plunge to make it

26-0, the scoring drive set up by Cody Ries’ first interception of the

season. Shrock got his second interception return of a touchdown on

Orange’s ensuing possession, which he ran back 53 yards for the score.

Huntington Beach’s interception derby continued on the next offensive

series by Orange as Engel stepped in front of a slant pass and returned

it 11 yards for the score.

Fiscus, Victor Ordonez, Tyler Borkovetz, Bobby Duarte, Justin Garcia,

Antonio Small, Daniel Nelson, and Shane Keating all recorded tackles for

loss in a strong defensive performance by the Dolphins.

Coach Dave Small was concerned with the Dolphins’ lack of offensive

output (14 points, 277 yards), but had nothing but praise for his

defense.

“When you have your defense scoring four touchdowns, you have to get

excited,” he said. “It was good to see the kids pick it up in the second

half and play as hard as they did. Orange never quit coming at us, but

our defense got the job done.”

Huntington Beach’s victory sets up the Dolphins with a Saturday showdown

against the host Westminster Lions at Buckingham Park in Westminster. The

Dolphins and Lions share second-place in the AFL-Pacific League heading

into the final weekend of the regular season.

A victory Saturday would assure the Dolphins a spot in the upcoming

Orange County Jr. All-American Football playoffs.