losing to La Habra in the final seconds<\/a> a year ago.<\/p>\n\u201cWe had a good time after that [homecoming] win. \u2026,\u201d Edmunds said. \u201c[Then] we put [the tape of the prior La Habra game] on the big screen, and we kind of went silent. They remembered that feeling and everything like that. I think we played with that feeling tonight. We played with a bad taste in our mouth, and we flew around and we were physical, and we came out with the victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following a 12-play, 69-yard drive of nearly eight minutes that ended with a 12-yard touchdown run by Highlanders quarterback DJ Mitchell, the Oilers struck up the band with a big special teams play. Steel Kurtz returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards for the initial points for Huntington Beach. He would be heard from again.<\/p>\n
![\"Huntington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472854_845_\")
<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach\u2019s Steel Kurtz (12) looks for open space along the sideline during a kick return touchdown against La Habra.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
The quick-strike attack took the cue. Huntington Beach, which had run a total of eight offensive plays up to that point, got the ball back with 73 seconds left before the break. Three plays later, Edmunds hit Dylin Bruce in stride along the Oilers\u2019 sideline for a 63-yard touchdown and a 14-10 lead at halftime.<\/p>\n
Matthew Hatchette, the Oilers\u2019 first-year head coach, called the game a \u201cheavyweight fight\u201d and referred to the execution in the two-minute drill as \u201ca big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was probably the most influential piece in the first half,\u201d Hatchette said. \u201cWe answered the bell. We\u2019re not going to always get all of our possessions. We don\u2019t always get to run 25 plays in the first half. We just have to stay the course, right? Control the controllables. When we get a chance to make a play, then we have to go make the play.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Huntington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472855_116_\")
<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach\u2019s Nathan Sammartano (20) breaks free for a 50-yard run against La Habra on Friday in an Epsilon League game.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach was largely contained in the running game, but Nathan Sammartano ripped off 50 of the team\u2019s 54 rushing yards on one carry coming out of the locker room. Edmunds made good on the red-zone trip with an 8-yard scoring connection to Troy Foster. The Colorado State-bound wide receiver ran his season totals to 997 yards and 13 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of ups and downs during this game, but I feel like this was a good game to just teach us to persevere,\u201d said Foster, who had 11 catches for 143 yards. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be tough challenges along the way. The road\u2019s not all going to be [blowout] wins. We\u2019re going to play these tougher opponents, and we just got to know how to respond when bad things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kurtz, an all-purpose player committed to Idaho State, was called upon when the Oilers went into their bag of tricks. A double-pass play wound up with Kurtz testing his arm, the heave covering 50 yards in the air and finding Foster at the 10-yard line for a 50-yard touchdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know that I could throw it that far,\u201d Kurtz said in disbelief. \u201cWe\u2019ve been practicing it for three or four weeks now, and I\u2019ve just been waiting for it to be called. Brady threw it to me, and nobody was guarding Troy within 20 yards. I was like, \u2018I just got to throw it as far as I can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Huntington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472857_754_\")
<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach\u2019s Dylin Bruce sprints toward the end zone for a touchdown in the third quarter against La Habra on Friday.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach had built a 28-10 advantage at that point, and it again enjoyed a three-possession lead, 35-17, after Edmunds and Bruce linked up on a 46-yard score at the midway mark of the third quarter. Bruce finished with five catches for 138 yards.<\/p>\n
La Habra (5-2, 1-1) did not go quietly. In fact, the Highlanders, who won last year\u2019s meeting at \u2018Cap\u2019 Sheue Field, 37-35, on a last-second field goal, had a chance to take a late lead that may have resulted in an eerily similar scoreline.<\/p>\n
Johnny Yadrick\u2019s coverage sack had just earned the Oilers\u2019 defense a chance to get off the field, but on fourth-and-15, Mitchell unleashed a pass over the middle. Bryce Vasquez had a step on three members of the Huntington Beach secondary, but the pass was juggled near midfield and fell incomplete.<\/p>\n
![\"Huntington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472858_45_\")
<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach\u2019s Jimmel Champion (1) tackles La Habra\u2019s Bryce Vasquez (6) on Friday in an Epsilon League game.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
Vasquez, who led the Highlanders receiving corps with eight catches for 90 yards, reeled in a touchdown as part of the comeback attempt. Bobby Brooks\u2019 goal-line rushing score closed the deficit to 35-30 with 7:31 remaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a fun league,\u201d longtime La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta said. \u201cHow many times do you get to play against an Ohio State-commit quarterback? I mean, come on. It\u2019s a fun league. They had some really good skill players. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the games are big, in my opinion, so it wasn\u2019t like we had to circle Huntington Beach. Everybody knows. The kids know, both teams know it\u2019s a big game. If you\u2019re going to win the Epsilon League title, number one, you\u2019re going to have to go through the defending champs, so it\u2019s a big game. \u2026 It was close last year. We know how good they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472859_142_\")
<\/p>\n
La Habra\u2019s DJ Mitchell (1) looks for a receiver against Huntington Beach in an Epsilon League game on Friday.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
Caden Clark and Kurtz each added a sack for the Huntington Beach defense, which also received a key pass breakup from leading tackler Logan Gray (eight tackles), who knocked down a fourth-down pass at the line of scrimmage with La Habra in the red zone on its first possession.<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach finds itself tied with Crean Lutheran (7-0, 2-0) atop the Epsilon League standings. The Oilers, who play host to Foothill (2-5, 1-1) on Friday, will travel to take on the Saints on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n
When asked what a league championship would mean to the team, Edmunds noted the Oilers had been in the Sunset League for a while before moving to the Epsilon League, \u201cso I can\u2019t tell you when the last time Huntington ever won league was…I think that alone, just being able to beat big opponents. [La Habra] was a big opponent. Crean Lutheran is going to be a big opponent, so being able to show that we can win those big games, going to the playoffs \u2014 whether we\u2019re Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 \u2014 as long as we beat these big teams, it\u2019s just momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Huntington](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760472861_981_\")
<\/p>\n
Huntington Beach\u2019s Troy Foster (4) had 11 catches for 143 yards against La Habra in an Epsilon League game on Friday.<\/p>\n
(Jeremy Westerbeck)<\/p>\n
Epsilon League<\/b><\/p>\n
Huntington Beach 35, La Habra 30<\/b><\/p>\n
SCORE BY QUARTERS<\/b><\/p>\n
Huntington Beach 0 – 14 – 21 – 0 \u2014 35<\/p>\n
La Habra 0 – 10 – 14 – 6 \u2014 30<\/p>\n
FIRST QUARTER<\/b><\/p>\n
None.<\/p>\n
SECOND QUARTER<\/b><\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Meyer 34 FG, 11:55.<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Mitchell 12 run (Meyer kick), 4:15.<\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Kurtz 73 kick return (Dunham kick), 4:01.<\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Bruce 63 pass from Edmunds (Dunham kick), 0:25.<\/p>\n
THIRD QUARTER<\/b><\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Foster 8 pass from Edmunds (Dunham kick), 11:07.<\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Foster 50 pass from Kurtz (Dunham kick), 7:41.<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Rogers 29 pass from Mitchell (Meyer kick), 6:24.<\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Bruce 46 pass from Edmunds (Dunham kick), 5:41.<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Vasquez 14 pass from Mitchell (Meyer kick), 2:23.<\/p>\n
FOURTH QUARTER<\/b><\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Brooks 1 run (Mitchell run failed), 7:31.<\/p>\n
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING<\/b><\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Sammartano, 5-53; Edmunds, 4-6; Kurtz, 1-0; Santillan, 3-(-1); Villanueva, 1-(-1); Team, 1-(-3).<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Mata\u2019Utia, 16-85; Brooks, 9-36, 1 TD; Mitchell, 6-15, 1 TD; Vasquez, 1-2; Rodriguez, 1-1; Rogers, 1-(-7).<\/p>\n
INDIVIDUAL PASSING<\/b><\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Edmunds, 18-21-0, 250, 3 TDs; Kurtz, 1-1-0, 50, 1 TD.<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Mitchell, 18-32-0, 226, 2 TDs.<\/p>\n
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING<\/b><\/p>\n
HB \u2014 Foster, 11-143, 2 TDs; Bruce, 5-138, 2 TDs; Kurtz, 2-17; Villanueva, 1-2.<\/p>\n
LH \u2014 Vasquez, 8-90, 1 TD; Rogers, 5-82, 1 TD; Coyne, 2-18; Brooks, 1-17; Raphiel, 1-15; Mata\u2019Utia, 1-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LA HABRA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Huntington Beach had looked forward to its chance to take on La Habra\u2019s high-powered offense, but for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":303502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[154079,1582,276,154075,154074,154077,1910,32807,2961,154072,154078,224,5337,2868,153530,17946,154073,111999,154076,80883],"class_list":{"0":"post-303501","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-bobby-brooks","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-dylin-bruce","12":"tag-edmunds","13":"tag-epsilon-league-lead","14":"tag-game","15":"tag-huntington-beach","16":"tag-la","17":"tag-la-habra","18":"tag-lh","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-mitchell","22":"tag-oilers","23":"tag-pass","24":"tag-steel-kurtz","25":"tag-td","26":"tag-troy-foster","27":"tag-yard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115374357681965088","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}