HUNTINGTON BEACH — Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds always seems to find a way to make plays during crunch time for the Oilers.
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Edmunds connected with Dylan Bruce for a 5-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining, giving the Oilers a 24-21 victory over El Modena in the Delta League opener for both teams Friday at Huntington Beach High School.
The Oilers (6-0, 1-0), ranked No. 10 in Orange County, and the No. 22 Vanguards (5-1, 0-1) both entered the contest undefeated.
Almost three minutes earlier, Aiden Sullivan’s 1-yard touchdown run capped an eight-minute, 13-play drive that gave the Vanguards a 21-17 lead.
El Modena’s assistant coaches, after seeing a replay of Bruce’s touchdown on a tablet, said the pass skipped off the turf in the end zone before Bruce cradled it.
After the officials conferred, the initial touchdown call was confirmed.
“The pass looked like it bounced,” El Modena coach Matt Mitchell said. “It is what it is. It’s a game and we’ve got to deal with it.”
Bruce said he made the catch.
“Great play by Brucey there at the end,” Huntington Beach coach Matthew Hatchette said. “If this was the NFL, we would have had instant replays. This is high school, so we get the benefit of the doubt on that call.”
Hatchette credited his players for being in the game-winning situation to begin with, and he praised Bruce for a 40-yard kickoff return that gave the Oilers possession at the 50 after El Modena’s touchdown.
The clutch finish mirrored the Oilers’ 29-25 victory over Yorba Linda on Sept. 19, when Edmunds connected with Bruce for a 26-yard touchdown in the game’s final seconds.
“I think our players are starting to understand that it’s not just go up and down the field and score touchdowns,” Hatchette said. “You have to play in a football game. You just never know what situation you are going to be in.”
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On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Edmunds’ pass was intercepted — only the third interception of the season for the Ohio State commit — by Isaac Perez.
One play later, El Modena quarterback Ethan Sorenson ran for a 75-yard touchdown, giving the Vanguards a 7-0 lead 20 seconds into the contest.
On the ensuing possession, Edmunds led the Oilers on one of his signature drives, a 10-play, 69-yard march capped by his 6-yard scoring pass to Dallas Miller to tie the score.
It was 14-14 at halftime, and the score remained that way until a 25-yard field goal by Malachi Newmaster gave the Oilers a 17-14 lead early in the fourth.
The field goal capped a nine-minute, 20-play drive that started at the Huntington Beach 8.
Sullivan broke up and nearly intercepted a third-down pass, forcing the Oilers to settle for the field goal.
Sorenson rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jason Ramos.
“We’ve been in the Delta League, so we kind of know what to expect,” Mitchell said of the tight battle. “We played hard and played as a team tonight, and that is the most important part.”
Read more OCVarsity’s football wrap-up: Stories, scores, photos from Friday’s games