Huntington Beach spoils Homecoming for Welch, Fountain Valley

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Oct. 13, 2017 11:15 PM PT

Sports and mathematics often work hand-in-hand, but not always.

Those incidents in which people question the relationship between the two are ones where one ought to look beyond the numbers.

Rivalry games are chief in that category, and the return of Fountain Valley quarterback Nick Welch to Huntington Beach High would certainly qualify.

Yes, it was strange for Fountain Valley to have to put on its Homecoming on the campus of the opposing team. And yes, it was strange for Homecoming to mark the first meeting between Welch and the team that he transferred from one year prior.

Say what you want about coincidences, but it was Friday the 13th.

Four turnovers created on defense helped the Oilers to a 21-14 victory over Fountain Valley, spoiling Homecoming for Welch and the Barons at Huntington Beach High.

Arick McLawyer threw for 114 yards and three touchdowns. The play that gave him the greatest thrill was recovering a fumble when Welch dropped the snap under center at the Oilers’ 11 with four minutes to go.

“I’ve never felt a greater feeling ever,” McLawyer said. “I’ve played football since I was 4, and it was just so exciting. I love my teammates. We really pulled through tonight.”

By the numbers, Fountain Valley (5-2, 1-1) had to feel pretty good about its chances. The Barons entered the game at 5-1, with the Oilers sporting the inverse of that mark.

But what Huntington Beach (2-5, 1-1) has on its side is a team that played competitively in a playoff game last year. A 4-6 record got the Oilers to the playoffs a year ago. With Edison and Los Alamitos likely to land the top two spots in the Sunset League, Huntington Beach would hope to see a similar fate in making the playoffs if it pulls off victories against Marina and Newport Harbor to take third in league.

“I don’t think it is an upset,” Jeremiah Flanagan said of the win over the Barons. “We practiced hard. We did what we were supposed to do.”

“They came out being cocky, staring at us before the game. We got done what we needed to get done.”

John Gosney recovered a pair of fumbles in the first half. Surprisingly, the junior middle linebacker was called into action for a key offensive play in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 14-13, Huntington Beach faced a fourth-and-five inside the Barons’ 10. McLawyer took a deep drop and retreated further when pressure came up the middle. The Oilers quarterback broke a tackle from Benn Vallier. As he ran down the right sideline, McLawyer tossed a lob over an oncoming defender, and it was Gosney who caught it for the go-ahead eight-yard score.

“That’s practice coming to work,” Flanagan said. “We practice turnover drills every Wednesday. John plays his heart out every game, so I just give him props for that.”

McLawyer got himself in space and juked his way into the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Flanagan had three receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns. His first two catches went for scores of 30 and 43 yards.

“We gave up a couple of big plays, but we buckled down and played hard,” Oilers coach Brett Brown said. “The kids battled. That’s the thing that I’m most impressed with.”

“They showed a lot of heart, put together a drive when we needed to and got a two-point conversion. Arick played awesome.”

Welch drew first blood against his old teammates with a 66-yard scoring dash on a quarterback draw. He added a 44-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

The last of three fumbles by the Barons (and the third of three turnovers committed by Welch) took away the chance for Fountain Valley to tie the game late. Both of Welch’s fumbles came on the Oilers’ side of the field.

“The Barons killed the Barons,” Fountain Valley coach Jimmy Nolan said. “I don’t tip my hat off to Huntington. I think we beat ourselves, as we always do. Sometimes, we come out of it with a win, so we don’t learn anything from it.”

“We don’t deserve to win when we turn the ball over, and until that changes, we won’t win another game.”