Oilers Get Enjoyable Victory
As if to underscore the moment, George Pascoe let out a loud “whoooooooop!”
Huntington Beach High School had just defeated Edison, 24-14, in front of 5,000 Thursday at Orange Coast College and it was a victory worth screaming about.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 14, 1989 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday October 14, 1989 Orange County Edition Sports Part C Page 18 Column 1 Sports Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Prep football--Matt Acocello kicked a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of Huntington Beach High School’s 24-14 victory over Edison Thursday. He was incorrectly identified in Friday’s Orange County edition of The Times.
The celebration raged all around Pascoe, Huntington Beach coach. Players hugged, coaches hugged players, fans hugged, all savoring the moment.
“It was nice, it was fun,” said Pascoe, trying to translate his feelings into the King’s English. “I went to Fountain Valley. It’s always fun to beat Edison.”
In this case, a victory gives Huntington Beach a slight edge in the Sunset League championship race. Huntington Beach is 5-1 overall, 1-0 in league play; Edison is 3-3, 0-1.
Doug Cunningham, Huntington Beach’s senior running back, said he hadn’t been on an Oiler team that had defeated Edison since he playing on the freshman team.
“We won in the last five seconds,” Cunningham said.
Thanks to Cunningham, Huntington Beach didn’t have to pull out a last-second victory Thursday night. He rushed for 82 yards in 18 carries and caught six passes for 98 more. He scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeff Gibson in the second quarter that helped Huntington Beach to a 14-6 halftime lead. He added a three-yard touchdown run for a 21-6 lead in the third quarter.
“I feel like I’ve been through a war,” Cunningham said. “But it’s worth it. It’s pay-back time.”
Cunningham certainly played as if past failures against Edison were fresh in his mind. Every time Huntington Beach needed a big play, he came up with one.
His diving catch along the sidelines for a 24-yard gain set up his scoring pass from Gibson.
In the fourth quarter, his 48-yard run set up a 30-yard field goal by Tony Canini that clinched the victory.
The Oiler defense allowed just one touchdown and two field goals, one that had to be seen to be believed. They slowed Shane Sherman, Edison’s running back who gained a school-record 308 yards last week in a victory over St. John Bosco. He had 108 yards in 22 carries, but just five gains of five yards or more.