HUNTINGTON BEACH – San Clemente quarterback Sam Darnold and his teammates made the most of their chance Friday night to show their talents.
The USC commit, who missed most of last season with an injury, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as the Tritons scored 30 consecutive points in the second half to defeat host Huntington Beach, 44-21, in a spotlight game between beach city schools.
San Clemente (2-0) also matched its win total from last season, which ended with eight straight losses with Darnold out with a foot injury.
The Tritons’ motto for the season is “Operation Redemption” and the theme certainly fit for a few reasons Friday.
“Last year when Sam went down, it hurt us as a program,” San Clemente coach Jaime Ortiz said. “He’s such a dynamic player and you see what he brings to the table. … Huntington Beach is a great opponent for us to kind of dominate that second half. It’s a tribute to the kids and their will.”
Huntington Beach (0-2), the reigning CIF Southwest Division champion, led, 21-14, at halftime before Darnold directed a 30-point outburst.
Running back Brandon Reaves scored on touchdown runs of 12 and 23 yards in the second half but Darnold’s prints were all over arguably the Tritons’ biggest win since their Pac-5 Division runner-up season of 2011.
Darnold sparked the second-half surge with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Russell late in the third and capped the run with a 44-yard TD strike to Russell off a double-move with 7:54 left in the fourth.
In between the TD passes, Darnold scrambled for first downs, extending drives and setting up Reaves. Darnold completed 13 of 28 passes for 211 yards and rushed for 99 on 11 carries.
“He had a real good game,” Ortiz said of Darnold. “I think he can play better, scary as that is. He has the ‘it’ factor. Coach (Steve Sarkisian of USC) got a great quarterback. And I’ve said it from Day 1, I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.”
For the second consecutive game, the Oilers opened a quick lead. Running back Travis Heer broke a 47-yard touchdown run on Huntington Beach’s second play from scrimmage for a 7-0 lead with 8:41 left in the first quarter.
Malik Miller added a 22-yard field goal about seven minutes later to cap a drive sparked by three key receptions by Nolan Thompson and a 20-yard run by quarterback Chad James.
But San Clemente responded with consecutive touchdowns behind Darnold to take a 14-10 lead in the second quarter.
He used his legs to cap a 65-yard drive with a spectacular 37-yard touchdown run with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. On the third-down run, Darnold stepped up against the rush, raced into the secondary and juked a defensive back near the 10 en route to the end zone.
Earlier in the drive, Darnold leaped a defender for a 15-yard gain. The Oilers argued that Darnold hurdled the would-be-tackler but the officials let the highlight run stand.
After San Clemente’s defense held on a fourth-and-1 from its 27, Darnold drove the Tritons for another score in the second quarter. The senior threw a well-timed, 12-yard touchdown pass to Triston Morgan to give the Tritons a 14-10 lead with 6:25 left in the half.
Huntington Beach finished the first half with a flurry to take a 21-14 lead.
Miller kicked a 25-yard field goal with 1:14 left in the second quarter to cap a long drive that featured a 41-yard completion from James to Christopher Reene after James was bumped in the backfield.
The Oilers then capitalized on a turnover late in the half to take the lead with 9 seconds left in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Hunter Simmons. Defensive end Liam Jimmons caught the 2-point conversion off a play-action fake from James for a 21-14 lead.
The late points came after a fumble recovery by defensive end Hojun Lee at the Tritons 11 with 56 seconds left in the half.
But the second half belonged to San Clemente and Darnold. Perhaps overlooked was the play of the Tritons’ defense, which pitched a shut out in the final two quarters. After Heer broke his 47-yard TD run, he didn’t have another run longer than 9 yards and finished with 76 yards on 18 carries. The Tritons and linebacker Riley Whimpey held Heer to 2 yards in the second half.
San Clemente’s defense also forced a safety as they tackled Heer in the end zone on a punt attempt with 2:32 left in the third quarter. The safety gave the Tritons te lead for good, 23-21.
Jimmons was a bright spot for the Oilers with a pair of sacks.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
