Oilers and McGehee Have It Made in the Mud, 13-7

Soaked by rain and chewed up by non-varsity games a day earlier, the condition of Sheue Field Friday night was better suited to a casual tug of war than to a crucial football game--unless you happened to be Jason McGehee of Huntington Beach High School.

With a straight-ahead running style designed for power, McGehee bulled his way for 93 yards in 23 carries to lead the Oilers to a 13-7 victory over Ocean View in a Sunset League football game in front of a crowd of 2,500.

“He’s a mudder. He does a great job running in the mud,” Huntington Beach Coach George Pascoe said of his ace running back.

McGehee also is versatile. His biggest contribution, in fact, came when he returned an interception 30 yards to the Ocean View five-yard line. That set up the Oilers’ first touchdown, a two-yard run by Bobby Berger.

Along with Eric Pettinato’s 47-yard touchdown pass play to Rick Brunings in the second quarter, it was enough to keep the Oilers (6-3 overall, 3-1 in league play) in the running for a playoff berth and put a damper on the post-season hopes of Ocean View (2-2, 4-5).

The Seahawks, coming off back-to-back victories over Marina and Edison, looked like giant-killers for the third week in a row when they marched 80 yards for a touchdown on their first possession. The quick, six-play drive was capped by a 33-yard pass from Vic Gutierrez’s to Rob Trounce.

Bryce Spence then recovered a successful on-side kick at the Huntington Beach 32, but Ocean View wasted the opportunity and never threatened after that.