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HUNTINGTON BEACH – Huntington Beach might have just saved its season.

The Oilers beat Fountain Valley, 27-12, Thursday at Huntington Beach High. A loss would have kept them in last place in the Sunset League with an 0-3 league record

Instead, Huntington Beach is 1-2 in league and back in the hunt for one of the Sunset League’s three guaranteed playoff berths. The Oilers, a CIF champion last year, are 2-6 overall. Their other win was against Downey in a nonleague game three weeks ago.

Fountain Valley is 5-3 overall and 1-2 in league.

Huntington Beach senior running back/linebacker Travis Heer returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown and scored on a 74-yard run. Hunter Simmons rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

Christopher Renne also had an interception for the Oilers that set up a touchdown.

Last year, Huntington Beach started off 0-2 in league. The Oilers then won a couple of league games, including an upset of Newport Harbor in the regular-season finale, to get an at-large playoff berth. Huntington Beach kept the momentum going in the playoffs to win the CIF-Southern Section Southwest Division championship.

Huntington Beach plays host to Los Alamitos next Friday in a Sunset League game. Fountain Valley has a league have next Friday against Edison at Orange Coast College.

Heer said the Oilers approached Thursday’s game with a sense of urgency.

“Just like last year,” he said. “Fight or die. We knew we had to come out here and play.”

In the third quarter, Huntington Beach, trailing 12-7, put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Simmons’ 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2. The Oilers tried to run it in for two points but were stopped, leaving them with a 13-12 lead.

On Fountain Valley’s ensuing possession, Huntington Beach cornerback John Davis smacked a Fountain Valley receiver just as a pass got there. The ball was deflected and Heer picked it off for his interception return for the touchdown that made it 20-12 late in the third quarter.

Heer’s 74-yard touchdown run stretched the Oilers’ lead to 27-12 with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter.

Huntington Beach’s second-half takeover featured a strong effort by the Oilers’ offensive line of Kenen Fronk, Jake McFetridge, Chase Timmins, Dane Romberg and Pablo Pulido augemented by tight ends Liam Jimmons and Nick Crabtree.

Fountain Valley scored on its opening possession as Hunter Margain got six points on a 4-yard run. The Barons’ run for a two-point conversion failed.

They took a 12-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Stone Escobedo in the second quarter. Simmons scored on a 3-yard run later in the quarter to trim the Barons’ lead to 12-7.

Fountain Valley had success running the ball, especially in the first half. Falealii Moe led the Barons with 82 rushing yards. Quarterback Chad Olberding rushed for 59 yards for Fountain Valley.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com