DOWNEY – With a three-point lead late in the first half, Huntington Beach scored two touchdowns in 29 seconds en route to its first win of the season, a 38-13 victory over Downey in a nonleague game at Downey on Friday night.
The Oilers held a 10-7 edge when Chad James found Brayden McRae with a 50-yard touchdown pass, and Malik Miller kicked the point after to make it 17-7 with 44 seconds left in the half.
Downey (2-3) took possession at its 20 following the kickoff, and Rafeeq Rahim completed a 35-yard pass to Jason Thomas, but the Oilers’ Chris Reene recovered Thomas’ fumble and returned it 55 yards for touchdown. Miller’s kick made it 24-7 with 15 seconds left.
“Any score is important, but that was big,” Huntington Beach coach Eric Lo said. “We got to ride that momentum going into half, and then we came out and scored another two touchdowns.”
Hunter Simmons, who ran for 128 yards on 21 carries, scored the touchdowns, both from 7 yards out. The first boosted the lead to 31-7 early in the third quarter. The Oilers (1-4) then recovered an onside kick and drove 48 yards, taking a 38-7 lead with 7:02 left in the quarter.
“It’s a huge win, we needed it,” said Lo, who was also pleased with the defensive effort. “We’ve kind of struggled in our previous four games, and we really showed what we’re capable of doing, because Downey is a good team with a lot of speed.”
James threw for 174 yards for Huntington Beach, with McRae making three catches
Daevon Vigilant ran for 121 yards for the Vikings (2-3).
Huntington Beach host Newport Harbor to open Sunset League play Friday night.
