Huntington Beach football rallies late to win at Dana Hills, improves to 7-0

In the latest cardiac conclusion, the Oilers made plays on both sides of the ball late, with the less-heralded defense coming through time after time against its potent host.

Brady Edmunds ran in the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and the Oilers’ defense followed with a critical red-zone stop in a 21-16 win at Dana Hills to move into sole possession of first place in the Delta League.

After a catch, Huntington Beach receiver Dylin Bruce (2) runs up the middle against Dana Hills on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) Huntington Beach (7-0, 2-0 in the Delta League) is one game clear of a group that includes El Modena (6-1, 1-1), against which the Oilers required a go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-down play with 11 seconds left, Dana Hills (6-1, 1-1), Laguna Beach (4-3, 1-1) and Troy (4-3, 1-1).

“It’s exciting football,” Huntington Beach coach Matthew Hatchette said. “‘Exciting’ and ‘blood pressure’ and ‘heart attack’ go in the same sentence, unfortunately, right now, but it’s a good brand of ball. My hat’s off to [the Dana Hills] coaching staff because they know what they’re doing.

“Same as last week [against El Modena]. That was a well-coached football team. You can just tell by some of the things that you see on film, right? … Then you get out there, some of the adjustments that they make after a first drive, after the first half, stuff like that. I guess ‘exciting’ and ‘nail-biter,’ giving each other a heart attack, I guess that’s part of football.”

Dana Hills running back Enzo Gallo (10) breaks up the field for a touchdown against Huntington Beach on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) Dana Hills came in averaging 55.8 points per game, showing an explosiveness that has allowed the Dolphins to put up those gaudy numbers. Enzo Gallo rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns, and Jack Norman made 10 catches for 145 yards.

Carter Anderson looked to Norman on three consecutive end-zone shots from the 15-yard line on the Dolphins’ final drive. Slot cornerback Charlie Stubin had the coverage on the last two, disrupting the fourth-down play enough to see the ball bobbled over the end line. DeMario Alexander had the coverage on the first of the three attempts to find the senior receiver in the red zone.

“It’s great coverage,” Dylin Bruce, an Arizona State-committed receiver and defensive back, said of Stubin, who also had an interception and a fumble recovery in the contest. “He squeezed to the receiver and made a play on the ball. I’m proud of my guy.”

“Trust me. We’ve never practiced that,” said Hatchette, adding the Oilers’ four-year starting quarterback has a “passion out of this world.”

Edmunds appreciated the trust, rushing the interior of the Dolphins’ offensive line on fourth down and landing near the feet of Anderson.

Dana Hills running back Enzo Gallo (84) loses the football and recovers the ball against Huntington Beach on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) “I always like to say that I’m a football player, I’m not a quarterback,” Edmunds said. “I was in Coach Hatchette’s ear for about that entire drive, saying, ‘No one in this world, no one wants it more than me right now at this moment.’”

Huntington Beach’s stars showed up with the game on the line. Bruce reversed field on a long punt return to set the Oilers up on the edge of the red zone with six minutes remaining.

“I just see green grass, and I just go,” said Bruce, who also extended a play in crossing the field after a catch on a 53-yard gain in the first quarter. “That’s all it is. I’ve just been playing ball since I was young, so I was always taught to just go and do what’s best.”

After a catch, Huntington Beach receiver Dylin Bruce (2) breaks a tackle against Dana Hills on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) Four plays later, which included a holding call, Edmunds had covered 33 yards — all on the ground. His 12-yard sprint to the right pylon with 4:14 remaining regained the lead for the Oilers.

Back-and-forth game. Huntington Beach regains the lead, 21-16, at Dana Hills on this @bradyedmunds9 rushing TD with 4:14 remaining. @TheDailyPilot @mjszabo @ScottJFrench https://t.co/qpLUUt0xo8

“It very much [fires you up],” Skylar Robinson, a transfer from Gardena Serra, said of Edmunds running through contact on the go-ahead drive. “I already know my defense was gonna come back … We gave up big plays, but we also made big plays where it mattered, so when my quarterback did that play, I just got real excited.”

Robinson was the recipient on a fourth-down, 21-yard touchdown on the Oilers’ opening drive, going down to the ground to make the catch. Edmunds later climbed the pocket and zipped a pass to Bruce for an 18-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half, sending Huntington Beach into the locker room with a 15-7 advantage.

Skylar Robinson (8) scores the game’s first touchdown against Dana Hills on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) In the third quarter, Gallo broke off a 66-yard rushing touchdown, and Enzo Carpino’s short field goal to close it out gave Dana Hills a 16-15 lead.

Huntington Beach forced three turnovers as a team, with defensive tackle Kaz Abdollahian making an interception. Free safety Dylan Cunningham forced a fumble.

The Oilers travel to take on Western (0-7, 0-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Jacob Gonzales (31) celebrates a tackle on special teams against Dana Hills on Friday. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer) Delta League

HB — Robinson 21 pass from Edmunds (Newmaster kick), 7:40.

HB — Bruce 18 pass from Edmunds (Edmunds run), 0:33.9.

DH — Gallo 66 run (Anderson run failed), 3:14.

HB — Edmunds 12 run (Bruce run failed), 4:14.

HB — Edmunds, 7-54, 1 TD; Miller, 11-26; Santillan, 1-0.

DH — Gallo, 20-171, 2 TDs; Anderson, 2-17; Howes, 2-6; Rasmussen, 4-5; Marquis, 1-0.

HB — Bruce, 6-115, 1 TD; Robinson, 5-52; Santillan, 1-20; Crump, 3-11; Navarette, 1-4.

DH — Norman, 10-145; Valles, 1-33; Bailey, 2-13; Williams, 1-5.

Get our free TimesOC newsletter, sent twice a week, for the news that matters to your community.

Andrew Turner is a sports reporter for the Daily Pilot. Before joining the Pilot in October 2016, he covered prep sports as a freelancer for the Orange County Register for four years. His work also has been used by the Associated Press and California Rubber Hockey Magazine. While attending Long Beach State, he wrote for the college newspaper, the Daily 49er. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and history. (714) 966-4611