WESTMINSTER – Senior quarterback Chad James threw for 236 yards and five touchdowns as Huntington Beach hammered Marina 63-14 in a Sunset League game at Westminster High on Friday night.
The Oilers (3-7, 2-3) were bidding for the Sunset’s third spot in the CIF-SS playoffs, but needed a Fountain Valley win over Newport Harbor to force tie-breaking coin flips. While they were not able to take third place in the league, they put on an offensive show against the winless Vikings (0-10, 0-5).
James completed 11 of 14 passes, and his first two went for scores, hitting Travis Heer from 13 yards out to close an 80-yard drive to open the game, then adding a 63-yarder to Nolan Thompson on the first play after the Vikings turned the ball over on downs.
Junior running back Hunter Simmons ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns for the Oilers, with his first score a 13-yarder with 2:05 left in the opening quarter, giving Huntington Beach a 21-0 advantage.
Marina drove from its 20 to the Oilers’ 7 late in the first quarter with the help of a 31-yard pass from Nolan Winks to Mitchell Barnes and a 43-yard run by Jacob Lopez on a fake punt, but the drive stalled.
Huntington Beach added four touchdowns in the second quarter. Simmons scored on runs of 3 and 8 yards to make it 35-0, and after Marina got on the board with a 1-yard run from Lopez, James hit Malik Miller from 22 and 12 yards out. The Oilers led 49-6 at the break.
Along with his 236 passing yards, James ran for 70 yards.
