Huntington Beach football dominant in rivalry game win over Marina

Huntington Beach receiver Jordan Castro makes a catch at the sideline and sprints for a touchdown against Marina.

By Scott FrenchSpecial Contributor

Sept. 17, 2021 3:54 PM PT

There was a whole lot to please head coach Brett Brown in Huntington Beach High School‘s 45-13 rout of Marina at home in Thursday night’s Oil versus Water Rivalry showdown, and one glaring problem that needs to be fixed, before the Oilers step into the Sunset League battles following next week’s bye.

Seven touchdowns of 25 yards or more — one of them on a fake punt, another on a fumble return, more on passes covering 65 and 75 yards — and some 414 yards of offense was coupled with a defensive effort that held the visiting Vikings to negative yardage and no first downs until it was 18-0 nearly two minutes into the second quarter.

AJ Perez threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, and Evan Riederich capped a 101-yard performance on just eight carries with a 25-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

“We came out pretty sharp,” Brown said. “We had some big plays, and the more big plays we have the better shot we have of winning the football games. ... It was nice to see everything working. I think off the run and pass, we had a pretty good game tonight.”

Huntington Beach quarterback AJ Perez (6) steps into the end zone for a touchdown.

In the second quarter, Huntington Beach (3-2) scored three touchdowns and amassed 223 yards on just nine offensive plays to take a 31-7 lead into halftime.

Perez found AJ Vandermade in the end zone for a 31-yard score on the second play of the quarter.

After Riederich ran for 18 yards on a second-and-23 play, Perez then hit Hideo Ray for 26 yards on third-and-18 before Jordan Castro beat coverage by five yards to haul in the 65-yard touchdown the next time the Oilers had the ball.

Perez was intercepted on his next throw by Micah Rhoads, leading to Bo Green’s diving, twisting, end-zone catch on a 20-yard Brock Beaver pass three plays after Anthony Fabian rambled for 34 yards, but he answered Marina’s score seconds later by connecting on a 75-yard touchdown with Ray.

Ray caught the ball at the Huntington Beach 40, slipped away from a tackler and sprinted the rest of the way.

“I put the ball in the hands of the playmakers, and they do big things with it,” Perez said.

Marina's Bo Green (13) runs through defensive traffic for a big gain during a football game against Huntington Beach.

Perez was sacked four times, and he was only 10 of 20 after completing just one of his first seven throws. He hit on nine of 11 attempts for 228 yards during the stretch from late in the first quarter through early in the third.

Huntington Beach’s offensive surge, with 408 yards after three quarters, was offset somewhat by 196 yards on 19 penalties, many of them for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Brown disagreed with many of the calls, adding, “But they called it, so they’re penalties, and we have to clean it up. [To be penalized that many yards] is ridiculous.”

Perez juked a defender on a 30-yard run to give the Oilers the lead a little more than 2½ minutes into the game, and they made it 12-0 two drives later when punter Tyler Moses took off and went 37 yards for a touchdown.

Riederich scored on the first drive of the third quarter, and it was 45-7 when Nathan Tauanuu scooped up Fabian’s fumble four plays later and took it 26 yards to the end zone.

Marina (1-4) got its second touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter with Beaver hitting Green on a six-yard pass.

“Last week, I felt like we weren’t clicking,” Perez said. “Tonight, it all came together. We were all on the same page, the timing was great, and we executed.”