Flagg Is Up; Oilers Rout Burroughs

Huntington Beach football Coach George Pascoe listened to the question, then paused and pondered before he answered.

“Our last playoff victory,” he said. “It had to be the year before I got here in 1983. I guess it has been a while.”

Maybe too long for the Oilers, who pounded Burbank Burroughs, 35-7, in a Division II first-round game Friday night for their first postseason victory since 1982.

Huntington Beach (11-0) advanced to the second round against Cerritos Gahr. Burroughs ended the season 5-6.

Fullback Justin Flagg had 186 yards total offense (118 rushing) and tailback Chris Yadrick added 96 yards rushing and 24 receiving as the Oilers built a 21-0 halftime lead and were never threatened.

“Justin was the man tonight,” said Huntington Beach tight end Tony Gonzalez, who caught three passes for 48 yards and scored on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter. “That was his game tonight.”

Levi Schuck completed 12 of 22 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown as the Oilers rolled up 470 yards total offense.

Schuck ran Huntington Beach’s no-huddle offense perfectly in the first half, keeping Burroughs’ defense on the field with three long scoring drives.

The Oilers took the opening kickoff 77 yards in 10 plays, with Eric Escobedo scoring on a three-yard run off tackle.

They stretched the lead to 14-0 when Flagg capped a nine-play, 96-yard drive with a four-yard run with 10 minutes seven seconds left in the second quarter.

Schuck then hit a wide-open Josh Holland for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 5:24 left in the second quarter to give the Oilers a 21-0 lead.

By halftime, Flagg had 132 yards total offense (76 rushing) and had outgained the entire Burroughs offense by 86 yards. Chris Yadrick had 60 yards rushing in only six carries, and Schuck completed nine of 16 passes for 170 yards.

The Oiler defense dominated the Indians, holding them to only two first downs in the first half, both late in the second quarter.

Yadrick’s 25-yard run with 6:03 left in the third quarter pushed it to 28-0, but Burroughs avoided the shutout when Scott Boldvich hit Jim Thompson on a 10-yard swing pass for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Gonzalez capped the scoring when the tight end moved to the backfield and ran around the left side for a touchdown.