High School Football: HB steps up with win over Fountain Valley

For the second straight football game, points came at a premium for Huntington Beach.

The Oilers scored six points a couple of weeks ago, and the way their Sunset League opener was going through the first 1½ quarters on Friday, it appeared they would never score.

Their first points came on a fumble recovered in the end zone. Thanks to wide receiver Sean Welsh’s hustle on a fumble by the Oilers, Huntington Beach took the lead midway through the second quarter.

Welsh was also involved on the next score on the night, this one on a 13-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. The two scores were enough for the host Oilers to beat the Barons, 23-6.

A week after Fountain Valley produced 42 points in a one-point win at San Diego Mira Mesa, earning its first win of the year, the Oilers (3-3, 1-0 in league) slowed down the Barons.

Fountain Valley (1-5, 0-1) tried every trick to move the ball, most of it didn’t work. The Barons finished with minus-22 rushing yards, and Huntington Beach defensive backs Caleb Webb and Arick McLawyer each picked off quarterback Garrett Horn, who threw for 222 yards.

McLawyer, a transfer from Fountain Valley, made his debut with the Oilers after sitting out the first five games. The sophomore also caught three passes for 50 yards.

The first quarter featured no offense and no points. The biggest gain came off a deflected pass with around 3½ minutes to go in the first.

Faced with a second-and-32 situation, Huntington Beach quarterback Nick Welch threw a pass toward two receivers, and that was a good thing. The ball bounced off Welsh and landed in McLawyer’s hands for a 31-yard gain.

The Oilers needed one yard to move the chains on third down. They failed to get it. The Barons stopped Welch at the line of scrimmage. Huntington Beach decided to keep its offense on the field, and it got Fountain Valley to jump offside, giving the Oilers a first down.

The first down marked the first one in the game. The next one belonged to the Barons, and it came with a couple of seconds left in the opening quarter, a quarter in which both sides wanted to desperately end.

There were a couple of miscues on special teams by Fountain Valley, costing it field position and points. The first time was when the punter couldn’t handle the snap, and Huntington Beach’s Jonah Apelu recovered the ball on Barons’ 26.

The Oilers took advantage, but it took converting a first down on fourth-and-11 to do so.

Welch found a wide-open Jake Adams near the sideline for a 22-yard pass. The next play saw Welch run right, before he lost the ball, which bounced into the end zone. Underneath the scrum with the ball was his receiver, Welsh.

With 5:45 left in the first half, Huntington Beach produced the game’s first score. The hosts decided to go for two points, and Payton Marlow ran it in to make it 8-0 Huntington Beach.

Fountain Valley couldn’t get anything going on the ensuing possession. Kishaun Sykes, who was one of three players who saw time at quarterback for the Barons, lost yards on the first two downs. Then a personal-foul penalty pinned the offense on its eight. The Barons punted for the fourth time, and this one traveled 24 yards.

With great field position, starting on the Barons’ 32, Huntington Beach moved half the distance to the goal on a pass interference penalty. After Welch’s seven-yard run moved the Oilers inside the 10-yard line, Angel Hernandez and George Sykes dropped Derek Thomas for a four-yard loss.

Huntington Beach gambled on fourth-and-seven. Welch dropped back and hit Welsh on a slant to the right, and Welsh completed the 13-yard touchdown. The Oilers went for two again, and Marlow ran it in, putting the team up, 16-0, with 2:11 left in the first half.

Three long plays helped Fountain Valley move from its 30-yard line to the opponent’s two in a 57-second span. Horn connected with Hernandez on a 20-yard pass. His next attempt went toward the Fountain Valley sideline, where Josh Tellez made a leaping 19-yard catch. The following play Matt Powell took a direct snap and rushed for 32 yards, setting up the Barons two yards away from the end zone.

With 63 seconds remaining before halftime, things fell apart for the Barons. A false start on first down pushed them back five yards. A pass on second down went over the head of a wide-open receiver. A false start on third down moved them back five yards to the 12.

Nine seconds remained, enough time for a play or two. What happened next gave Fountain Valley no chance for anything.

The next snap sailed over Horn’s head, all the way to the 26, where Tellez fell on the ball. Time ran out on the Barons. They had to wait until the second half for another chance to score.

The Barons scored in the third quarter. Kishaun Sykes, playing receiver, caught a 35-yard pass to help put the offense on the opponent’s 12. Sykes finished with six receptions for 106 yards.

The score came four plays later, on Horn’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Tellez. They went for two and failed to cut the deficit in half.

The second half saw Fountain Valley turn the ball over on downs three times. The second time the Oilers responded. Welch, who threw for 169 yards, hooked up with Jeremiah Flanagan on a 24-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. That sealed things for Huntington Beach, which bounced back from its 38-6 loss at San Juan Hills on Sept. 23.

Sunset League

Huntington Beach 23, Fountain Valley 6

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Fountain 0 – 0 – 6 – 0 — 6

Huntington 0 – 16 – 0 – 7 — 23

SECOND QUARTER

HB – Welsh recovered fumble in end zone (Marlow kick), 5:45.

HB – Welsh 13 pass from Welch (Marlow kick), 2:11.

THIRD QUARTER

FV – Tellez 10 pass from Horn (run failed), 4:20.

FOURTH QUARTER

HB – Flanagan 24 pass from Welch (Reyes kick), 4:37.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

FV – Powell, 1-32.

HB – Contreras, 5-23.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

FV – Horn, 19-40-2, 222, 1 TD.

HB – Welch, 12-24-0, 169, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

FV – K. Sykes, 6-106.

HB – Flanagan, 4-64, 1 TD.