HUNTINGTON BEACH – Despite scoring six touchdowns and amassing 300 yards on the ground, the Huntington Beach Oilers were unable to outlast Moorpark in a 52-49 thriller Friday night.
Huntington Beach (0-4) scored a go-ahead touchdown with 2:33 left on a Chad James quarterback keeper that looked like it might seal the deal.
But as was the theme all night, the Oilers defense was unable to hold up its end of the deal, surrendering a touchdown pass from Moorpark’s Nicholas Clarke with 17 seconds remaining.
“We have to be consistent. And we’re just not playing very well, especially (on) defense,” Huntington Beach coach Eric Lo said. “We’re a terrible defensive team.”
The Oilers jumped to a 21-16 halftime lead behind James, who ran and threw for scores in the second quarter. James had four rushing touchdowns in the contest.
“(The offense) played hard and they did what they had to do,” Lo said. “We just couldn’t stop them.”
The second half of the game belonged to Oilers tailback Hunter Simmons, who scored on a 55-yard touchdown in the third on his way to a 213-yard effort overall.
But just as it looked as though Huntington Beach was going to pull away for its first victory of the season, Moorpark (3-1) kept coming back. The Musketeers were led by running back Eric Schaefer, who had 207 yards, and quarterback Nicholas Clarke, who had 300 yards passing.
Huntington Beach plays Downey next week before beginning Sunset League play.
With what he sees from his team now, Lo knows the Oilers have a long way to go before perhaps recapturing the magic that led them to a CIF Southwest Division title a season ago.
“We have to make plays when it’s our opportunity,” a visibly frustrated Lo said. “If we don’t get better, don’t tackle, it’s going to be a long season.”
Contact the writer: mkatz@ocregister.com
